Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

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From the film that made her want to work in cinema to how her screenwriting craft has evolved over the years, we cover it all Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

And when to hyphenate compound nouns in your writing Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

5 tips to navigate the revision and editing process on your own Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

E. 149, Murugan Idli Shop, 1, 6th Avenue, opp. Velankanni Church, GOCHS Colony, Besant Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600090, India Most of all, get the Onion Rava Masala Dosa.  The key dishes there cost not much more than one dollar, sometimes less. Is there any general model as to why, so often in the world […] The post Murugan Idli appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments I agree that there's an amazing amount of wonderful food in ... by Raghu Parthasarathy This popped up on my phone while I was eating idli and masala ... by cwc In Austin, Texas, there are several places that do good Masala ... by Niko Davor In reply to Not really. I dunno man, I've had a lot worse ... by Doug I think a lot of American food is cheap (by US PPP standards) ... by Phil S. Plus 10 more... Related Stories How to eat well in Sri Lanka The Economics of Export Bans  ( 4 min )

1. Pakistan facts of the day, gift watch edition. 2. How much do different kinds of doctors earn? 3. Jason Furman reviews *Big Business*. 4. Why do the top dart throwers keep getting better and better? (NYT, good piece on talent issues, covers other sports too). 5. How much is NoVa residential real estate suffering […] The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Kit. Sorry, that was a typo from autopilot. ... by Sure 6. Isn't Ederer the guy who did shoddy research and the guys at ... by Keith In reply to XVO. I just can't get over the headline: “How ... by Torn In reply to Sure. I think google is wrong, or you misquoted. ... by Kit In reply to Reason. Well for a start, nothing in economic ... by Sure Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

In my post SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited I noted that regulations requiring ships to reduce sulfur have increased global warming. Science has a new piece on the phenomena and the implications for intended geoengineering: Regulations imposed in 2020 by the United Nations’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) have cut ships’ sulfur pollution by more than 80% […] The post Unintended Geoengineering appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to EdR. … the supposed United Nations IMO ... by Margo In reply to EdR. Haha, I was wondering a bit because it was ... by sxb In reply to sxb. I was being sarcastic. Sorry. Poe effect. by EdR A few thoughts 1. The effects of seeding the atmosphere with ... by Steven In reply to EdR. There is more heat this year, but the world ... by sxb Plus 10 more... Related Stories Clean Hands, Clear Conclusions: Ignaz Semmelweis as a Pioneer of Causal Inference Growth models and new goods Health Alert: Your Survival Odds May Increase When Surgeons Take a Break!  ( 5 min )

Growth models typically assume an inaccurate equivalence between the consumption of greater quantities of existing products (as an individual achieves by growing richer, all else equal) and the consumption of new products. As a result, they typically arbitrarily understate the welfare benefits of growth. They also arbitrarily overstate the extent which future growth will motivate […] The post Growth models and new goods appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to sxb. Braille backup cameras don't work very well ... by Slocum In reply to Tom T.. Stick it to the foreigners! Crush them ... by Xenophobia FOREVER! In reply to Gluten-Free Bill. Gluten-Free Bill at 11:18:25 ... by Bill If the ideas are any good, they'd be more than worth the ... by Kaleberg In reply to EdR. Hard to display maps in Braille by sxb Plus 10 more... Related Stories Health Alert: Your Survival Odds May Increase When Surgeons Take a Break! Left Digit Bias in Medicine Clean Hands, Clear Conclusions: Ignaz Semmelweis as a Pioneer of Causal Inference  ( 5 min )

In multi-stage tournaments, anticipated competition in future stages might affect the outcome of competition in the current stage. In particular, the presence of super- stars might demotivate the next-best competitors from seeking to advance to later rounds, where they ultimately are likely to face a superstar. Data from men’s professional tennis tournaments held between 2004 […] The post Shadow Effects of Tennis Superstars appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments isnt this very similar to stereotype thread? getting nervous ... by Anton Maier In reply to BC. Or it could be something as simple as players ... by Joseph J In reply to Todd K. What was the US's chance of dying from ... by rsm Wow, so the psychology of a player can affect the outcome of a ... by Jimmy Connors In reply to Robin Soderling. Indeed, the career boost from ... by Tom T. Plus 10 more... Related Stories The economics of NBA contracts Work from home, and golf NBA (CEO) fact of the day  ( 5 min )

The decade that brought us the first installments of franchises “Die Hard”, “Lethal Weapon”, “Police Story”, “First Blood/Rambo”, and “Beverly Hills Cop”. That alone shows what a decade it was for the genre. Paul Verhoeven gave us “RoboCop”, John Carpenter has blessed us with “Escape from New York” and “Big Trouble in Little China” and […]  ( 8 min )

Wed 9 Aug 10:30am: Unifying Design-Based and Model-Based Sampling Inference A well-known rule in practical survey research is to include weights when estimating a population average but not to use weights when fitting a regression model—as long as the regression … Continue reading →  ( 9 min )

On this date 78 years ago, the first atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima. Survivors involuntarily provided key medical data for years, without receiving any help

Did you know that you can make RIDICULOUS tables in R (from Excel)? You can. And in this free R-tip, I share a real case study where I made the working R code for my financial cash flow statement table. I converted it from Excel Spreadsheet into a form... Continue reading: How to make Ridiculous Tables in R (from Excel)  ( 19 min )

Join our workshop on Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) using R, which is a part of our workshops for Ukraine series!  Here’s some more info:  Title: Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) using R Date: Thursday, August 31st, 18:00 – 20:00 CEST (Rome, Berlin, Paris timezone) Speaker: Ingo Rohlfing, Ingo Rohlfing ... Continue reading: Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) using R workshop  ( 11 min )

Mathias Drton from TUM pointed out this opening in his department: The Technical University of Munich (TUM) invites applications for the prestigious Rudolf Mößbauer Tenure Track Assistant Professorships to be appointed in spring 2024. The position is a W2 fixed-term (6 year) tenure-track professorship with the possibility for promotion to a tenured W3. Within its […]  ( 7 min )

Mathias Drton from TUM pointed out this opening in his department: The Technical University of Munich (TUM) invites applications for the prestigious Rudolf Mößbauer Tenure Track Assistant Professorships to be appointed in spring 2024. The position is a W2 fixed-term (6 year) tenure-track professorship with the possibility for promotion to a tenured W3. Within its […]  ( 7 min )

The money is out there, if you know where to look Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Metonymy and Synecdoche — A linguistic close-up Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

The Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 is experiencing a remarkable convergence in per capita income with the US, outpacing all other Latin American countries. With the right policies, it has the potential to become an advanced economy within the next four decades. ➡️ https://t.co/s8ofH9u1B9 pic.twitter.com/wJ7MSy48k7 — IMF (@IMFNews) August 4, 2023 The post Dominican Republic fact of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to So Much For Subtlety. Why punish me for choosing ... by rsm In reply to So Much For Subtlety. Why isn't it patently ... by rsm In reply to Hazel Meade. There's always an endless of list of ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to skyzyks. Come on. Who in their right mind would ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to Lorenzo di MeGeechi. Coca production? Armed ... by So Much For Subtlety Plus 10 more... Related Stories Sam Peltzman on American happiness Suicide rates The Rise in American Pain  ( 4 min )

1. Interview with David Garrow.  I found this a fascinating piece, one of the best of the year.  But it says as much about Garrow as Obama — how you can be that much of a grump?  How much “authenticity” do you expect from a president anyway? 2. Does surname diversity imply more innovation? 3. […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to mackong. Perhaps you expect Richard Hoste to be ... by mdap In reply to Robert. The piece makes clear he's not gone. ... by Bobster #1: A very strange piece. I don't think Garrow came across as a ... by M In reply to ceibus. How fortuitous that the only acceptable ... by mdap In reply to Context is that which is farce. It would be ... by mdap Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Another bit from my review in the WSJ of Random Acts of Medicine by Jena and Worsham: The authors do not always endear themselves to their colleagues. In one intriguing study spanning a decade and involving 200,000 patients, a surprising revelation emerged. Patients who happened to have a heart attack during a week when hot-shot […] The post Health Alert: Your Survival Odds May Increase When Surgeons Take a Break! appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Lord Action. Except these are heart attacks which ... by aaron Alex does not know the difference between a cardiothoracic ... by Med-Econ In reply to Lord Action. Socio-economic status is not ... by Action Lord In reply to Lord Action. “It's random in that neither you ... by Lord Action In reply to EdR. Provide a proof the measurement is wrong ... by Action Lord Plus 10 more... Related Stories Left Digit Bias in Medicine Behavioral Economics and ChatGPT: From William Shakespeare to Elena Ferrante The Amy Finkelstein and Liran Einav health care plan  ( 5 min )

…for Sri Lanka, the only country in the region to default on its official debt amid the economic squeeze caused by the pandemic and the Ukraine war, these are sunny days. Tourism revenue and remittances from Sri Lankan workers overseas have come roaring back. Inflation, which reached 70% last September, was back down to 6.3% […] The post Progress in Sri Lanka appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Dismalist. … No, that government simply ... by Eltz In reply to Eltz. The German hyperinflation ended, inflation ... by Dismalist In reply to dearieme. Sorry to break this to you, but ... by Bill Our boycott of French wines leaves us with money in our pockets ... by dearieme In reply to Greener than thou. How come Masanobu Fukuoka was ... by rsm Plus 9 more... Related Stories My views on the UFO hearings The European Visa Mess Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five  ( 5 min )

The subtitle is A practical guide for highly-skilled immigrants to thrive in the United States, and the authors are Soundarya Balasubramani and Sameer Khedekar, just published.  Covers all of the main immigration options into the United States in clear, understandable language.  Even if you do not wish to come, this is perhaps the best and […] The post *Unshackled* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments if you need to see an immigrant make an armed harvard harm ... by hum pinh kipling Highly skilled vs. low-skilled immigrants. There's a big ... by rayward In reply to steve. “ I would recommend it as a condition of ... by Reason I hope they'll include a link to this video. ... by dearieme Interesting that the verb in the title is “thrive”, whereas ... by Worley Plus 7 more... Related Stories Left Digit Bias in Medicine Behavioral Economics and ChatGPT: From William Shakespeare to Elena Ferrante One simple reason why travel is important  ( 4 min )

We model legislative decision-making with an agenda setter who can propose policies sequentially, tailoring each proposal to the status quo that prevails after prior votes. Voters are sophisticated and the agenda setter cannot commit to future proposals. Nevertheless, the agenda setter obtains her favorite outcome in every equilibrium regardless of the initial default policy. Central […] The post The power of the agenda setter appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to EdR. Don't expect it to improve. The old joke, ... by Komori In reply to asdf. He was writing as Hoste back in the pre- ... by Anon Essentially the EU “parliament”, which never passes ... by Treeamigo In reply to asdf. A 'Clash of Civilizations' idea is crude, ... by M In reply to M. Not just parliamentary systems, but some ... by mkt42 Plus 10 more... Related Stories The true nature of American polarization One worry I have about the costs of climate change My views on the UFO hearings  ( 5 min )

Christopher Nolan’s three-hour biographical drama starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the famed theoretical physicist who played a pivotal role in developing the first atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project in World War II, finally hit cinemas on July 21. Based on the non-fiction novel “American Prometheus” and led by a powerhouse […]  ( 9 min )

A man visits several worlds as he attempts to discover why humanity is dying out.  ( 2 min )

You can stop using user-scalable=no and maximum-scale=1 in viewport meta tags now [roger]  ( 1 min )

Can you roll a ball with exactly enough energy to reach the top of a dome, and have it reach the top in a finite amount of time? I’m going to idealize the hell out of this problem so we can easily study it using math. So: no friction, no air resistance… in fact, none […]  ( 8 min )

Can you roll a ball with exactly enough energy to reach the top of a dome, and have it reach the top in a finite amount of time? I’m going to idealize the hell out of this problem so we can easily study it using math. So: no friction, no air resistance… in fact, none […]  ( 8 min )

I spoke at a session with the above title at the American Economic Association meeting a few months ago. It was organized by Serena Ng and Elie Tamer, and the other talks were given by Patrick Kline, James Powell, Jeffrey … Continue reading →  ( 13 min )

As summers get hotter and longer, experts provide advice on how to survive heat-related emergencies

Here’s the science on whether naps have short- and long-term benefits for your health

I am working to improve my knowledge of demography. This is something I've only had a relatively superficial engagement with but it's an important part of the responsibilities of the team where I work. A key tool in demography is a "life table", wh... Continue reading: Model life tables by @ellis2013nz  ( 17 min )

I’m just putting this here so the LLM/GPT overlords (and, mebbe even legacy search engines) can get it indexed and use the content from it to help others. My Bluesky firehose viewer (https://gitlab.com/hrbrmstr/bskyf) displays ugly did:plc identifiers for users, and the way to ... Continue reading: Resolving A Bluesky/AT Protocol did:plc To A Handle/Handles  ( 8 min )

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Retraction Watch turned 13 on Thursday. The week also featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to nearly 350. There are now 42,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in Edifix, EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains 200 titles. … Continue reading Weekend reads: Death penalty for prof who killed whistleblower; psychiatry dept. shakeup after suicide in clinical trial; how scientific communication became highly profitable  ( 9 min )

The following is a Facebook advertisement for how people from Hong Kong can readily gain permanent residency in Canada.  Check out the unusual Sinoglyph inside the red bubble. The disyllabic expression is báihāo 白薅, where bái 白 is a very common character meaning "white; blank; plain; gratuitous", while many people, even those who are moderately literate, are […]  ( 11 min )

Two nights ago, it was raining heavily, with lightning and thunder every so often.  As I was peering out into the blackness of my backyard, all of a sudden, a bright light flashed on.  At first I thought it was lightning, but then I realized that someone or something had set off the light.  It […]  ( 12 min )

Mostly short talks. First talk by Thomas Seinke (Google) on interpreting ε, with a side wondering of mine on the relation between exp(ε) and the uncertainty that comes with Monte Carlo outcome. Which may relate to this 2022 paper by Ruobin Gong. Second talk by Gautam Kamath (U Waterloo) on large language models under privacy […]  ( 7 min )

Mostly short talks. First talk by Thomas Seinke (Google) on interpreting ε, with a side wondering of mine on the relation between exp(ε) and the uncertainty that comes with Monte Carlo outcome. Which may relate to this 2022 paper by Ruobin Gong. Second talk by Gautam Kamath (U Waterloo) on large language models under privacy […]  ( 7 min )

Barbeque, or siu mei, is a crucial part of Cantonese cuisine, and Hong Kong is full of shops and restaurants that excel at it. Everyone has their favorite, and for a lot of siu mei aficionados, that’s Sun Kwai Heung, a humble little take-out spot in the far eastern reaches of Hong Kong island.  Everything is made on-site, from crispy-skinned roast pork to soy sauce chicken, to char siu, barbecued pork butt that is dipped in a gloriously sticky maltose glaze. The latter, in particular, is their specialty, and it’s not surprising to find a queue spilling out onto the sidewalk at certain hours of the day when it’s due to come out of the oven.  You can customize your order by letting the staff know how fatty you’d like the char siu to be – if you’re unsure, boon fei sau, which means “half-lean half-fat,” is a good place to start. Char siu—or any Cantonese barbecue, in fact—can be enjoyed on its own as a snack or appetizer, like charcuterie, or pair it with plain rice to make it a proper meal.  ( 13 min )

In a city full of flashy, mixologist-led bars, Bound, located in a relatively nondescript block among neighborhood eateries and knick-knack shops of Kowloon, is a refreshing antidote. Not to say that this low-fi hangout doesn’t make a proper drink—it just does so without taking itself too seriously. It’s one of the few places you’ll find cocktails made with Chinese liquors, from the traditional rice-based Yuk Bing Siu, to Magnolia, a recent local invention featuring Chinese medicinal herbs. If you’re not in the mood for cocktails, there’s an excellent rotation of craft beers, both imported and local, on tap, bottled, or canned, as well as mocktails, and a neat menu of Asian-inspired dishes, from Okinawan taco rice to Sichuan fried chicken. Stop by any time of day (they also do great coffees)—it’s the kind of place where anything goes and you certainly wouldn’t be judged for day-drinking.  ( 13 min )

Many of Hong Kong’s dai pai dongs (street stalls) have either closed down or moved indoors over the years, and fortunately for congee lovers, Mui Kee belongs in the latter category. Opened in 1979 as a street stall, and now located on the top floor of a wet market, Mui Kee specializes in fish broth-based congee. Toppings are cooked to order, and each serving of congee is finished off in a copper pot on extremely high heat, in a manner similar to stir-frying in a wok. Congee purveyors using this technique are few and far between these days, making them a rare gem—little wonder that the stall is busy even in summer, despite the lack of air conditioning.  Fresh fish belly is a specialty here, but you’ll find all the classic toppings like pork meatballs, sliced beef, pork innards. and century egg, as well as essential side dishes like savory Chinese doughnuts and steamed rice rolls.  ( 13 min )

The Hong Kong-style egg tart, with its jiggly custard center and just-baked pastry crust, sits proudly on almost every local bakery's shelves, and has done so for the better half of the past century. So for a Swiss-Frenchman to change up the recipe, and make his version an absolute hit that has queues round the block with tourists and locals alike, is no mean feat.  This baker, Grégoire Michaud, cut his teeth in the pastry kitchens of five-star hotels, and when he launched his own brick-and-mortar, Bakehouse, he wanted to pay tribute to the city he's called home for the past couple of decades by creating his spin on this local favorite.  His egg tart has a flaky laminated sourdough base; its center meltingly creamy, and intensely eggy, but it’s not the only thing you should get—the pretzel croissant is satisfyingly chewy, sprinkled with just the right amount of salt, and the beef rendang pie will make your palate sing. Keep an eye out for one-off seasonal specials.  ( 14 min )

Established in 1930 on a plot of 200 acres in Lloyd Harbor on Long Island, the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception trained future clergy members in the Diocese of Rockville Center, including Nassau and Suffolk counties, for 82 years, until the educational programming relocated to Yonkers in 2012. But before the land was purchased by the diocese in 1924, it was owned by Ronald Roy Conklin, a descendant of the original colonizers of Huntington and the owner of the North American Trust Company, which grew from a successful real estate partnership. Conklin and his wife, the famous opera singer Mary McFadden, settled on what was then known as Rosemary Farm in 1913, living in a 30-room mansion overlooking Lloyd Harbor. Perhaps more fascinating though, is a treasure that lies just beyond the ruins of the home—an outdoor amphitheater built as a gift for McFadden. Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, of Central Park and Prospect Park fame, it hosted the National Red Cross Pageant in 1917, drawing thousands of guests and featuring a march led by John Philip Sousa. The amphitheater had an unusual design, with a moat in the center separating the audience and the performers on stage—quite the way to handle pesky hecklers! When the property was purchased by the diocese, the amphitheater fell into disuse, but has since been restored by the folks at the seminary. Few venture beyond the main building to explore the wonders in the backyard.  ( 14 min )

Dairy isn’t part of the traditional Hong Kong diet, yet most Hongkongers would consider local-style milk tea a staple, and even a symbol of the Hong Kong identity. A much stronger brew than the British original, nai cha, as Hong Kong-style milk tea is known, is made of Ceylon tea and unsweetened evaporated milk, which became widely available after the Second World War.  These days, it’s found everywhere from fast food restaurants to cha chaan tengs (diners serving localized Western food). Despite being the default caffeine hit of the city’s denizens, surprisingly few places have made the drink their focus.  My Cup of Tea isn’t devoid of food (there’s a small menu of cha chaan teng classics like fluffy white bread omelet sandwiches), but it’s first and foremost a tea bar, insisting on making their own blend of tea, and putting the brewing station front and center of the diminutive shop. They even host milk tea-making workshops, believing that the beverage isn’t just sustenance, but an important part of the city’s culture and history.  ( 13 min )

During construction works of the new Royal Collections Gallery, a set of ancient ruins was found. They include a section of the oldest Muslim wall, including several remains of houses attached and a pillar, part of the original gate of that primitive Madrid. The wall was built in the late 9th century and made of large limestone ashlars, similar in technique to the nearby Tower of Bones and the Arab Wall. However, the remains found here are even older. Among these vestiges, it has been interpreted that a door of three meters (almost 10 feet) would correspond to that first gate of Madrid, the Puerta de la Sagra, (Xagra, in Arabic) very similar to the Puerta de Alcántara in Toledo.  All of these elements are linked to the origins of the foundation of Madrid by the Umayyad emir Muhammad I, in which the existence of a fortress in this place was justified because of its location. It bordered the Christian kingdoms of the north and sat on a high plateau protected by cliffs.  After being hidden for centuries, the ruins have been incorporated into the permanent collection of the new museum and can be seen through a large glass. A video is projected in an adjoining room where the archaeological site is always in sight. The different parts of the old wall are illuminated. The exhibit shows the evolution of that ancient walled enclosure, first Muslim and then Christian, as well as the construction of the old Alcazar from the Habsburg dynasty to the current Royal Palace built on the Versailles style by the Bourbons in the 18th century.  ( 14 min )

It’s 1864, and the Civil War is raging. But southern secession isn’t the only danger threatening the Union. The United States has plenty of other enemies, foreign and domestic. If they got their way, this is what the formerly united states would look like—not two, but four nations jostling for space and supremacy on the land mass between the Pacific and Atlantic. The map title reads: Our Country as Traitors & Tyrants Would Have It; or Map of the Disunited States.”It was published in New York by H.H. Lloyd & Co. In blue, it shows a maximalist version of the Confederate States of America (CSA). The core of the CSA was composed of seven Southern, slave-holding states who seceded following the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana…  ( 19 min )

All across the city of Pune, around every corner, one can find something interesting which takes one back in time, to a bygone era that might be years to decades to centuries old. Along an inner road, a short distance away from St. Paul's Church near Pune Railway Station, in the center of the city, there is an empty patch of land along the side. In the corner of the plot are a number of interesting ancient stone structures. As one observes keenly, they are revealed to be old tombs.  According to sources, these are European tombs from the 19th century. Historians, archaeologists, and other experts have studied them and have arrived at a number of possibilities regarding their origin and details. Some say these belonged to German soldiers from around 1850, while others are of the opinion that they date back to around 1817 and are of French soldiers who were said to be a part of the Peshwa Army.  One of the tombs is dome-shaped, supported with stone pillars. According to experts, it belonged to the wife of a French soldier. Along with soldiers, some of the tombs are also said to be those of local Europeans of that era. However, due to the withering of the plaques, it is difficult to ascertain the exact details with any degree of certainty.  One of the tombs has a tree growing vertically out of the stone slab. Another one has mysterious circular symbols carved over its sides. Then there is one which is completely covered with creepers while another has a gnarled tree trunk resting at an angle over its top. Since this place is along an inner road, not many people know of its existence, despite it being located in the center of the city.  It is a fascinating spot to explore on a weekend and thus discover this lesser-known side of the city’s history, particularly for people who have a penchant for mysteries.  ( 13 min )

Coimbra is one of the oldest cities in Portugal. Home to the most prestigious university in the country, it served as the first capital of the Kingdom of Portugal and has had a strong monastic presence ever since. Across the river from the main part of town stands the ruined Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha. Originally founded by Lady Mor in the late 13th century, it became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth of Portugal, who built her palace next door. The monastery operated until the early 17th century, when flooding from the Mondego River forced the nuns to move uphill and leave the monastery. And there it sat for 300 years, until it was excavated in the late 20th century. Santa Clara-a-Velha is most famous for being the execution site for Ines de Castro. In 1340, King Afonso IV arranged the marriage between his son Pedro and Constanza Manuel of Castille. Much to Afonso's displeasure, Pedro fell madly in love with Constanza's cousin Ines, and installed her in Coimbra as his mistress. Constanza gave birth to a son and heir to the throne, but after she died in 1349, Pedro refused to marry any other woman except Ines. Fearing her influence on Pedro and any future sons they might have, in 1355 Afonso had Ines murdered in the Santa Clara-a-Velha monastery. Pedro had her killers brutally executed, and when Afonso died and Pedro became king, the legend goes that he had Ines' body exhumed and coronated as Queen. Today, Pedro and Ines are buried together in nearby Alcobaca, but their story has become one of the most well-known tragedies in Portuguese history. As for the monastery itself, it still experiences flooding every now and then, but visitors are now able to access the lower floors of the old monastery, including the choir and old treasury. Santa Clara-a-Velha remains one of the most complete and historically important Gothic ruins in the entire country.  ( 13 min )

Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandir is an iconic temple of Lord Ganesh in Pune. It was established more than a hundred years ago and is a divine shrine for pilgrims. Around the vicinity of the temple, in the busy square, there have been installed a number of artistically-designed streetlamps. These beautiful lamps depict four mice holding a large Modak. As per Hindu traditions, Lord Ganesh’s divine mount is a mouse and his favorite food is Modak, a sweet dumpling dish popular in Indian culture. These street lamps are a thoughtful creation that add to the aesthetic beauty of the square around the temple. The design is in keeping with the sacred ambiance of the area. They enhance the aesthetic beauty of the temple’s vicinity.  ( 12 min )

On December 26, 1811, some 600 people crammed into the Richmond Theatre to view a performance put on by the actors of the Placide and Green Company. Following the first act, a crew member raised a lit chandelier catching fire to the oil-painted hemp backgrounds. The fire spread quickly through the poorly designed theater, which was built to hold no more than 500 people. Despite the heroic attempts of an enslaved man named Gilbert Hunt and other brave guests, 72 people including acting governor George Smith perished in the nearly 1,000-degree Fahrenheit flames, reducing the once great theater to ash and rubble. In 1814, the Monumental Church was built to memorialize those who perished during the great fire. In front of the church rests an urn, inscribed with the victims' names. Underneath the church lays a crypt in which the victims.  ( 12 min )

Wonder is everywhere. That’s why, every other week, Atlas Obscura drags you down some of the rabbit holes we encounter as we search for our unusual stories. We highlight surprising finds, great writing, and inspiring stories from some of our favorite publications. The Appalachian Trail Keeps Getting Longer by Lizzie Johnson and Lauren Tierney, Washington Post When it was completed in 1937, the Appalachian Trail stretched 2,050 miles from Georgia to Maine. Today, it is almost 2,200 miles. The Washington Post has mapped the most substantial of the thousands of route changes—and the highway construction, exhausted hikers, and bad smells behind them. On Laro Ng Gagamba, the Filipino Pastime of Spider Wrestling by Gideon Lasco, Sapiens A fear of spiders, or arachnophobia, is commo…  ( 20 min )

The Riviera Ballroom, built in 1933, was a regional destination for live music from its opening until the early 1980s. The ballroom was the site of numerous performers that included Glenn Miller, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington among many others. Singers of the era that performed there included Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Mel Torme, the Andrew Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Perry Como, Billie Holiday, and Lena Horne to name just a few.    In 1972, the Riviera Ballroom was turned into a privately-operated nightclub called “Top Deck” which operated until the early 1980s. Artists who performed at Top Deck included Donna Summer, Chubby Checker, Herman’s Hermits, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Gloria Gaynor, Chaka Khan, the Village People, and Cheap Trick, among others. A more complete list of the performers is listed on the wall on the 1st floor of the Riviera building (which is open to the public and has several small shops open from spring to fall). The ballroom recently underwent an extensive renovation and now is a popular venue for weddings and other private, special events. While usually not open to walk-through, the inside is clearly visible from the exterior windows on the second-floor landing.  ( 13 min )

This story was originally published on The Conversation and appears here under a Creative Commons license. Even though x is one of the least-used letters in the English alphabet, it appears throughout American culture—from Stan Lee’s X-Men superheroes to “The X-Files” TV series. The letter x often symbolizes something unknown, with an air of mystery that can be appealing—just look at Elon Musk with SpaceX, Tesla’s Model X, and now X as a new name for Twitter. You might be most familiar with x from math class. Many algebra problems use x as a variable, to stand in for an unknown quantity. But why is x the letter chosen for this role? When and where did this convention begin? There are a few different explanations that math enthusiasts have put forward—some citing translation, others…  ( 21 min )

Many a French summer holidaymaker in the 1950s, stuck in an un-air-conditioned backseat on their way to the coast, would grow gleeful over an odd but charming sight: windows rolling down to welcome the wares of (car)door to (car)door nougat salesmen, peddling the confection along the infamous seven-hour traffic jams congesting the Nationale 7 trunk road—N7 for short. This chewy, taffy-like treat is emblematic of the local terroir, featuring Provence’s lavender honey and sweet almonds. While nougat can be found anywhere from Marseille to Avignon, Montélimar, located about halfway between Lyon and the Mediterranean coast, has been a cradle for the confection for centuries—and the presence of nougatiers on the Nationale was a distinctly Montélimar phenomenon. “The N7 made . . . I’m not su…  ( 25 min )

The amount of AI-written books on Kindle is mind-boggling Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Progress is the only thing that matters Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Plus: The Minnesotans helping to keep Canada's wildfires at bay; regulating the new THC market; man arrested for stealing fish worth $2,500; both directions of Interstate 35W through Bloomington and Richfield closed this weekend; and more.  ( 7 min )

Clearly, Selby is a street for people, and not a street for a high-frequency bus rapid transit line.  ( 14 min )

The Metro Transit police chief says the agency is taking an "educational approach" to fare enforcement. For now.  ( 18 min )

Yes. In establishing new social studies standards for middle school students on July 19, 2023, the Florida Board of Education included mention of enslaved people developing skills.  ( 6 min )

Yes. A national poll released by Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee found half of Republican respondents believed former President Donald Trump had classified materials at his Florida estate and the other half did not.  ( 7 min )

No. A state law approved by Gov. J.B. Pritzker will allow migrants legally authorized to work in the U.S. to become police officers in Illinois.  ( 9 min )

With the majority of the building's office space occupied, the property's owners mull ideas for first floor retail.  ( 10 min )

Historical scrutiny about the effects of urban freeways on communities, combined with the urgent need for climate action, makes the question of “too much ambition” posed in a recent Star Tribune editorial sound silly.  ( 19 min )

Plus: Farm bill comes to Farmfest.  ( 14 min )

The state could ban or regulate the sale of marijuana even by individuals who grow it on their farms or in their backyards.  ( 12 min )

Rising heat could debilitate mosquitoes bred to slow the transmission of viruses such as yellow fever and dengue

The reason some homes feel hotter than their air temperature has to do with radiant heat. Here’s what to do about it

Like us, plants and fungi have complex economies. By burning fossil fuels, we’ve been devaluing their currency.

Marvel for a moment at the Milky Way’s night-sky spectacle—and the scientific revolutions it has sparked

U.S. journalism needs to be treated as a “public good” like roads, schools and bridges

Astronomers are now seeking to pinpoint the origins of an exciting new form of gravitational waves that was announced earlier this year

An account of Ho�ng Xu�n S�nh's thesis, the history leading up to it, and the mathematics in it.  ( 2 min )

I'm writing a paper in honor of Ho�ng Xu�n S�nh's 90th birthday, and I'm running into a lot of questions. The term "categorical group" is often used to mean a group object in Cat; these days we also call...  ( 3 min )

An account of Hoàng Xuân Sính's thesis, the history leading up to it, and the mathematics in it.  ( 2 min )

I don’t have a lot to say this week. I’ve been busy moving, in preparation for my new job in the Fall. Moving internationally hasn’t left a lot of time, or mental space, for science, or even for taking a nice photo for this post! But I’ll pick up again next week, with Amplitudes, my […]  ( 9 min )

I'm writing a paper in honor of Hoàng Xuân Sính's 90th birthday, and I'm running into a lot of questions. The term "categorical group" is often used to mean a group object in Cat; these days we also call...  ( 3 min )

There is a good deal of coverage of the more shocking reasons that papers on the psychology of dishonesty by Dan Ariely and Francesca Gino need to be corrected or retracted. I thought I’d share a more mundane example — … Continue reading →  ( 16 min )

Kevin Gray writes: In marketing research, it’s common practice to use averages of MCMC draws in Bayesian hierarchical models as estimates of individual consumer preferences. For example, we might conduct choice modeling among 1,500 consumers and analyze the data with … Continue reading →  ( 11 min )

A recent NY Times/Siena College poll finds Donald Trump with a big lead among Republicans, with 54% vs. 17% for Ron DeSantis and a combined 13% for the next five.   Does this mean that he has an unbreakable grip on the party, or just that people are familiar with Trump and not with the other candidates?  Most people don't pay much attention to politics, especially when the next election is far off.  So if someone thinks that things were pretty good when Trump was president and doesn't know much about the other possibilities, they may default to Trump.  How many people like that are there?  There's a historical example that sheds some light on this question.  In 1980, Gerald Ford didn't actively run for the nomination, but he indicated that it was a possibility and it wasn't until March 15 …  ( 9 min )

1. “(If anyone out there can explain why homoerotic fascists keep seeking my company, please let me know.)”  More on BAP, from The Atlantic by Graeme Wood. 2. If you give people a free 10k, what will they do with it? 3. Why tourists no longer want to go to China (WSJ). 4. The economic […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to EdR. There is an optimistic counterpoint to this ... by sxb In reply to The Scary Black Hundreder. I wouldn't describe ... by mkt42 In reply to TA. Why is it anyone's business what ppl do with ... by rsm In reply to Bill Allen. > The anti-liberal argument that the ... by okay 1) ... by Ian Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Adding marital status to the mix, the GOP advantage among married men shoots up to 20 points (59% Republican to 39% Democrat) and shrinks among unmarried men to just 7 points (52% Republican to 45% Democrat). But what most people don’t know, including everyone who works at Politico apparently, is that among married women, Republicans still maintain […] The post The true nature of American polarization appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Reason. If the GOP ran a decent candidate they ... by steve In reply to asdf. Personal experience leads me to believe ... by Mark Z In reply to Bill. ^ Exactly what a fake Bill would say. by TMC In reply to Hazel Meade. So quit sleeping around. Stop ... by Apso In reply to Hazel Meade. “My bet is that probably married ... by Lord Action Plus 10 more... Related Stories One worry I have about the costs of climate change My views on the UFO hearings The political impact of social media has been grossly overrated  ( 5 min )

Maybe not: An emerging literature suggests that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can greatly enhance autocrats’ repressive capability and strengthen authoritarian control. This paper argues that AI’s ability to do so may be hampered by existing repressive institutions. In particular, I suggest that autocrats suffer from a “Digital Dictator’s Dilemma,” a repression-information trade-off in which citizens’ strategic […] The post Will AI boost autocratic regimes? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Almost on topic. It seems that ML can not only help you amplify ... by dearieme In reply to Rahul. Sadly, this is what counts as scholarship ... by Oldcurmudgeon In reply to dearieme. Damnation! This was meant as a reply to ... by dearieme Fair enough, but the post above suggests that it's really ... by dearieme In reply to Rahul. Indeed, claims based upon zero evidence ... by JWatts Plus 10 more...  ( 5 min )

To make this St. Louis specialty, fill thin pasta dough with a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella, then bread and fry your ravioli until lightly crisp—and don’t forget the marinara sauce for dunking.  ( 20 min )

A salad made for the Buffalo wing lover in your life.  ( 16 min )

We break down why GIR Stretch Covers are a handy, sustainable alternative to single-use food covers.  ( 14 min )

The best oyster knives dispatched dozens and dozens of oysters quickly and easily.  ( 28 min )

Finalist #12 in the Book Review Contest

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The third verse of Ben Sidran's song Can We Talk (track 5 on the 2013 album Don't Cry For No Hipster) repeats the couplet "I'm not sayin'; I'm just sayin'": Your browser does not support the audio element. This reminded me of a LLOG Post of Yore: "Just sayin'", 1/11/2012, which tried to answer a […]  ( 10 min )

A cancer researcher who admitted to faking data has pleaded guilty to attempted forgery in a case involving letters of recommendation he passed off as coming from his former supervisor.  Last year, Georgios Laliotis, a former postdoc at The Ohio State University, was charged with forgery for allegedly creating a fake email address with the … Continue reading Former postdoc who admitted to faking data pleads guilty to attempted forgery  ( 8 min )

In “The Face Laughs While the Brain Cries: The Education of a Doctor,” renowned neuroimmunologist Stephen L. Hauser blends personal history with accounts of his groundbreaking research into understanding multiple sclerosis and the development of novel therapies for managing the disease’s symptoms.  ( 12 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Exploring R’s Versatile str() Function: Unraveling Your Data with Ease!  ( 12 min )

I implemented the framed closed curves exposed in Here is the Julia imp... Continue reading: Drawing a tubular path with Julia  ( 12 min )

Our first cohort of the rOpenSci Champions Program has now completed the first phase of their training. Continue reading: rOpenSci Champions Pilot Year: Training Wrap-Up  ( 18 min )

Someone asked on StackOverflow how to compute the kurtosis and its standard error using the survey package. They were thinking of using svyrecvar, the variance estimation function that underlies most things in the package. That’s not actually the easiest approach: svyrecvar works with estimating questions, but for the kurtosis we don’t have estimating functions and instead have an explicit definition in terms of totals: \[\kappa = \frac{E[(X-\mu)^4]}{E[(X-\mu)^2]^2}.\] It’s likely to be easier to work with svycontrast and represent \(\hat\kappa\) as a function of estimated moments.  ( 2 min )

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Morning of diverse short talks. First talk by Bei Jiang (Edmonton) on locally processed privacy for quantile estimation, which relates very much to our ongoing research with Stan, who is starting his ERC funded PhD on privacy. Randomised response, in having a positive probability of replacing indicators in the empirical cdf by a random or […]  ( 7 min )

Morning of diverse short talks. First talk by Bei Jiang (Edmonton) on locally processed privacy for quantile estimation, which relates very much to our ongoing research with Stan, who is starting his ERC funded PhD on privacy. Randomised response, in having a positive probability of replacing indicators in the empirical cdf by a random or […]  ( 7 min )

3 ways to take advantage of your tendency to consume more than create content due to your lack of time to write Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

This 5-piece system is saving me Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Some questions to guide your decision-making Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Explore a South Florida 1960s relic that’s as in flux as the beachfront tides themselves. Every day at the Swap Shop is something new, with kitschy interiors and mysterious vendors that are always changing. Swap Shop is the perfect combination of mass-produced discount grime, liminal spaces, garage sales, and a perpetually creaky carnival. From ever-churning children’s rides to DIY robot statues, old movie promotional items, grillz makers, indoor go-karts, arcade machines, and flower shops, Swap Shop has it all. You can visit just to take in the nonsensical decorations or to try your luck shopping. If it exists, it exists at the Swap Shop in its most discounted, off-brand form. You can buy adult DVDs from a white windowless van and pick up themed tourist mugs just a few footsteps away. On weekends, visitors are treated to paid parking across the street with a bright yellow pedestrian bridge to safely usher them into the world of dust, rust, and mystery. The bridge has its own strange statues that help set the tone. Weekdays are calmer, allowing visitors to park closer to the building. Discounted flea market finds await at every corner. And for the empty stalls, relics of old movie promotional posters, dusty homemade decorations, and strange dioramas keep things entertaining. There are two floors of indoor booths plus semi-permanent outdoor container booths and an ever-changing lineup of cars selling their wares in the drive-in theater’s wavy parking lot. Speaking of cars, the building also seems to inexplicably host a collection of flashy collectible cars—though it has dwindled in size in recent years. Added bonus: Steve-O used to be a clown here before the TV show Jackass made it big.  ( 14 min )

Constructed in the early 12th century as a rural sanctuary far from the perils of war, Llanthony Priory continues to offer visitors a retreat from the pitfalls of modern life, even if the building itself hasn’t stood the test of time. The grand abbey was founded by Norman knight William de Lacy, who—in a highly unconventional move for the time—traded the battlefield for religion, and created a hermitage in the shadows of Brecon’s Black Mountains. During the height of its popularity, up to 40 religious canons lived on-site at the abbey and visitors travelled to see it from around the world. Sadly this period of prosperity did not last. Following Henry VIII's set of 16th-century laws that worked to dissolve British monasteries, the site was largely abandoned and left to the elements. And yet, even as a ruin, the Monmouthshire site exudes a tranquil beauty befitting a monument that was once one of Wales’ great medieval buildings. Symmetrical stone arches still stand in a grand row, along with a few turret-topped stone towers, providing a sense of the scale of the original priory. So picturesque are the weathered remains that famed British artist J.M.W. Turner traveled here to paint them in 1794 (a watercolor that now hangs in the Tate Britain in London). And then, of course, there’s the pub. Hidden beneath the 900-year-old site, in what is thought to have once been the abbey’s cellar, is a wonderfully cozy undercroft bar, where in-the-know patrons duck down into a cave-like space to sample the selection of local ales on tap. The old-worldly drinking den is run by the Llanthony Priory Hotel, which is attached to the site. The hotel has been set up to retain a sense of the abbey’s original role as a retreat from the modern world, and, as such, offers no in-room TVs, no wifi, and not even any mobile phone signal. Along with drawing hikers, history buffs, and quirky pub enthusiasts, the area is also famed for its stargazing credentials, offering exceptionally clear views of the cosmos after dark.  ( 13 min )

The Italianate-style storefront on the corner of Palm and Chorro Streets in San Luis Obispo, California, originally functioned as the retail establishment and residence of Ah Louis, a prominent Chinese-American entrepreneur, banker, and labor organizer. He was the de facto leader of the local community and is credited with significant contributions to regional commerce, agriculture, and industry. Established in 1874, the first floor of the building served as a counting house, post office, gathering place, pharmacy, and general store, trading in all manner of goods, including rum and opium; and it was the nucleus of Chinatown. The upper floor was the residence of Ah Louis and his family, including his eight children, from 1885 to 1936. Born in 1840 in the Guangdong Province of China, Ah L…  ( 14 min )

The Bell of the Fallen looms over travelers from its perch in the Italian Alps and delivers a solemn message. Visitors can walk or drive up the winding, sun-soaked streets of this sub-alpine, Italian town to reach a natural promenade overlooking the Brenner Valley—home to the world's largest free-swinging bell. Guests can stand beneath it in awe of its size, or at sunset.  The bell is more than a novelty. It's a loud and living reminder of Italy's darkest history. The Italian front was one of the bloodiest of World War I, and the Brenner Valley saw more than its share of violence. In memory of the fallen, cannons from both sides of the conflict were melted and cast to create this peace memorial. Around the bell is a garden of sculptures and art installations.  ( 13 min )

If you think riding a bicycle is exciting, imagine racing 40 miles an hour along steep curves without extra gears or brakes to stop you. This scene happens frequently at the Dick Lane Velodrome, Atlanta’s official home of track cycling. While this velodrome is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary, many Atlantans are unfamiliar with this hidden gem. The Dick Lane Velodrome is located just eight miles south of downtown Atlanta, in East Point’s Sumner Park. Residents of East Point were inspired to create a velodrome after watching the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. The group saw the racers on the Radstadion Velodrome in Olympiapark and decided they needed their own track. ( The course was completed in November 1974 at a cost of about $200,000. Some of the funds came from the Federal Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, the East Point Recreation Department, the State of Georgia, local civic groups, and East Point residents. Dick Lane, the namesake of the Dick Lane Velodrome, was a major fundraiser for the track. Lane was the Director of the East Point Recreation Department and a member of the Georgia State Legislature. The Dick Lane Velodrome is a 1/5-mile track with 36-degree banked turns. In addition to the track and judges’ stand, it has a parking area, concession building, public seating, a picnic area, and restrooms. The track also offers equipment rentals. It is the only velodrome in the world with a green space containing a large oak tree and a creek running through the infield. The East Point Velodrome Association, the non-profit group that manages and maintains the track, hosts a number of events throughout the year. Highlights include: Bicycle Safety Clinics, Beginner’s Program, Youth Cycling League, Advanced Training, Weekly Racing, and Pro Racing Series. There are about two dozen active velodromes in the United States. The closest tracks to the Dick Lane Velodrome are in Ashville, North Carolina, Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Cooper City, Florida.  ( 14 min )

Get up close and personal with American bison at this wildlife preserve in northeastern Indiana. Although these giant herbivores were once pushed to the brink of extinction by the United States government, careful conservation efforts have helped stabilize populations. This particular herd consists of around 250 animals, which roam free over 400 acres designed to simulate their natural habitat. Unlike a zoo, this gives visitors the chance to see these charismatic megafauna behave much as they would in the wild. The best time to visit is in mid-May, when around 40 to 50 calves are born each year. In addition to learning about the bison, visitors can learn more about the history of the Native Americans prior to the arrival of European colonists. There is also a gift shop with souvenirs, as well as bison meat and snacks for purchase.  ( 12 min )

There are dinosaurs buried beneath New York City’s Central Park. Now these aren’t your typical T. rex or Triceratops left behind in layers of sediment. These dinosaurs aren’t millions of years old and never took a gulp of air. They’re dapper Victorians, made of cement, wire, stone, and clay. They were entertainers and educators, meant to give New Yorkers their first glimpse of the prehistoric creatures that once roamed New Jersey forests and Connecticut lakeshores. But in 1871, these carefully crafted, life-size models were destroyed, smashed into worthless smithereens, and then buried in a small mound in Central Park. According to historian Vicky Coules of the University of Bristol, the event remains the “greatest act of vandalism in the history of dinosaur study and museum development.” …  ( 22 min )

In October 1998, Asmita Kabra, a young economics professor, arrived for the first time in the place that would become Kuno National Park. A dryland forest in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Kabra remembers how the monsoon that year had turned the trees so green that it hurt her eyes. In the flush of harvest, homes of the local Sahariya people overflowed with goods gathered from the forest, notably chir: a fragrant, green-yellow resin, also known as Indian frankincense, that comes from the salai tree. Kabra expected to visit Kuno just a couple times, but the place got under her skin, she says. She grew to love its dramatic cycles of drought and abundance. After each rain, the dry brown landscape transformed into a verdant paradise. When Kabra started teaching at Ambedkar Unive…  ( 20 min )

One of the highlights of Oslo's Norsk Folkemuseum, or Norwegian Museum of Cultural, is a collection of 160 historic buildings relocated from around the country. The crown jewel is the collection of King Oscar II, considered by many to be the world's first open-air museum. First set up at the monarch's summer residence in 1881, the original five buildings included a 16th-century farmhouse and a 12th-century storehouse. Most impressive of all is the Stave Church from Gol, a magnificent wooden cathedral first built around 1200 and partially rebuilt and restored in 1880. Intricate carvings cover the richly detailed interior. Although the church was once filled with brightly painted statues of Catholic saints, today all that remains are the places where the figures once stood and occasional cryptic runes. The nave of the church still reads “Kiss me, because I struggle,” possibly in reference to one of the lost sculptures.  ( 12 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the Caribbean island of Dominica to hear the story of Jacko, a formerly enslaved man who became a national hero for his ingenious escape and emancipation efforts. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

1. Twitter account on the weaponization on the U.S. government. 2. Paul Christiano on LLM safety. 3. “History is a graveyard of classes which have preferred caste privileges to leadership.” (NYT) 4. Two Canadians switched at birth (NYT, good piece). 5. On the Trump indictment. 6. When groups of scientists disagree, how do people decide […] The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Chris. Ummm I hate to break it to you but yeah ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to Michael Thomas. No fan of Trump, but jailing ... by LivelyClock In reply to Gridlock. Biden is the geriatric Leftist ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to joan. No one pays a washed up crack addict ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to Hazel Meade. If he did win, why shouldn't he say ... by So Much For Subtlety Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Middlebury lacks sufficient housing for all the students planning to attend this fall. After exhausting other options, the college plans to pay 30 students $10,000 each to stay away. Clever idea, but I’m sure you all noticed the “After exhausting other options” clause in there.  Here is from the rest of the story: But the […] The post Sort of Middlebury markets in everything appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments How about more students per room? Like if it was 2 to a room ... by Floccina In reply to mkt42. As a fresher at dinner: a fellow student ... by dearieme In reply to Lord Action. I agree it is a distorted market but ... by steve In reply to steve. “OTOH, this is capitalism at work.” ... by Lord Action In reply to Rahul. At least partially because I am old, I ... by steve Plus 10 more... Related Stories Clean Hands, Clear Conclusions: Ignaz Semmelweis as a Pioneer of Causal Inference New Econ Lesson Plans! Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five  ( 5 min )

From my review in the WSJ of Random Acts of Medicine by Jena and Worsham: You have probably heard of left-digit bias—the idea that $7.99 seems cheaper than $8, even though $8 is only negligibly different than $8.01. Left-digit bias is widely observed in pricing but the effect is more general. A car with 39,990 […] The post Left Digit Bias in Medicine appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Sure. This is also a bit why I am less than ... by RAD In reply to MikeP. I’m not getting sucked into arguing ... by Heedless In reply to Derek22. Waaah-Waah by Heedless Has anybody tried a left digit bias argument when they got ... by TWBC In reply to Heedless. Of course I go to the literature ... by MikeP Plus 10 more... Related Stories Behavioral Economics and ChatGPT: From William Shakespeare to Elena Ferrante The Amy Finkelstein and Liran Einav health care plan Clean Hands, Clear Conclusions: Ignaz Semmelweis as a Pioneer of Causal Inference  ( 6 min )

Here is one excerpt: > HEISENBERG: […] I believe this uranium business will give the Anglo–Saxons such tremendous power that EUROPE will become a bloc under Anglo–Saxon domination. If that is the case it will be a very good thing. I wonder whether STALIN will be able to stand up to the others as he […] The post Transcript of taped conversations among German nuclear physicists (1945) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Anti-Gnostic. “but there are plenty of them” ... by Formerly K In reply to Steven. I totally agree, extremely interesting ... by Z In reply to Anti-Gnostic. “(Also, not all of the Dem party ... by Lord Action In reply to Anti-Gnostic. @Lord Action We agree on most of ... by Formerly K In reply to Anti-Gnostic. 90 percent agreement with Formerly ... by Lord Action Plus 10 more... Related Stories Clean Hands, Clear Conclusions: Ignaz Semmelweis as a Pioneer of Causal Inference One worry I have about the costs of climate change My views on the UFO hearings  ( 5 min )

The size of the costs of climate change is a matter of frequent dispute, but current methods seem to leave out some important variables. In particular, how we will choose to bear and distribute our adjustment costs will bring complications and distortions of its own. Consider, for instance, some recent economic estimates of the costs […] The post One worry I have about the costs of climate change appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments The campaign to control the weather is much more of a threat to ... by guizot In reply to Anti-Gnostic. Now, if ya go up there, ok, ya know ... by blue jay In reply to blue jay. Those fires have been started by ... by Anti-Gnostic Climate change is not a problem, it is a condition. The IPCC ... by SJW-(not social justice warrior) In reply to Bill Allen. But the gains and losses by potential ... by Todd K Plus 10 more... Related Stories My views on the UFO hearings The political impact of social media has been grossly overrated More on Singapore and public sector talent development  ( 7 min )

Plus: Lindsey Whalen talks to KFAN about her U of M exit; some St. Paul voters redistricted into new wards; Minnesota’s first dispensary shuts down online ordering; Lizzo responds to allegations made by former dancers; and more.  ( 7 min )

Yes. On a visit to Iowa for a Democratic Party news conference on July 28, Walz said “I mention coming down to Iowa, which we commonly refer to as the Deep South for Minnesota.”  ( 6 min )

An attorney who successfully sued over St. Paul’s use of special assessments to cover routine street repairs may pursue further legal action if the city continues to forge ahead.  ( 21 min )

Excessive alcohol use is taking a heavy toll in a state that celebrates its drinking culture.  ( 22 min )

With Wednesday’s ruling, the Supreme Court sent the crucial permit for the NewRange mine, formerly PolyMet, back to the MPCA. The agency will have to give the EPA a chance to weigh in, this time in a more formal and public manner.  ( 21 min )

Now is the time for a reset in Africa’s Sahel region.  ( 11 min )

Plus: Kung Fu Zombies continues run; a free fire show at Powderhorn Park; Ifrah Mansour's healing hut; and more.  ( 13 min )

Plus: Central Minnesota significantly short on child care spots; crime up on Metro Transit but agency says it's making progress; COVID cases up in the Twin Cities; and more.  ( 5 min )

For our resident bread expert, this cloth makes cleaning up dough way less of an annoying task.  ( 15 min )

We tested the Brod & Taylor Sourdough Home (a temperature-controlled cabinet) and found it works great.  ( 17 min )

It’s built to last, brews excellent coffee, and is easy to use. (It also won our pourover brewer testing, besting 14 other models.)  ( 13 min )

Also electricity CfDs, AA+ rated agencies, Martin Shkreli’s path to profitability, Binance TBTJ and cold-calling VC interns.  ( 2 min )

A captivating travel memoir recounting an 1859 journey to Cuba, offering vivid descriptions of the island’s culture, landscapes, and people.  ( 3 min )

A collection of science fiction stories by Frederik Pohl ordered by date of publication.  ( 2 min )

A meek and unassuming employee at the Department of Public Prosecutions exercises his remarkable skills to solve puzzling crimes.  ( 2 min )

Construction has begun on the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. It could provide enough clean energy to power 400,000 homes per year

The European Space Agency's ambitious Euclid space telescope is on its way to decoding the secrets of dark matter and dark energy

Naomi Livesay worked on computations that formed the mathematical basis for implosion simulations. Despite her crucial role on the project, she is rarely mentioned as more than a footnote—until now

Breaking down “toxic masculinity” is complicated, especially amid fears of a masculinity crisis. Just look at one video game’s attempt

An artist, a programmer and a scientist have created a simulation of extraterrestrial communication to test Earthlings’ ability to understand it

David Allison points to this post: Often indirectly, but sometimes directly, we hear from true believers in concepts attached to obesity, nutrition, and public policy. The embedded question is “Why do you doubt this article of faith?” Among the many … Continue reading →  ( 15 min )

Nice Marmot Poetry | Aareet Mahadevan Fedi Circle Creator 📌 ⬌ Natty's Blog AI Colors julian.digital  ( 1 min )

If Retraction Watch were the child of Jewish parents – which happens to be the case – it would be celebrating its bar mitzvah this year. Yes, that’s right, mazel tovs are in order: Retraction Watch turns 13 today.  And as the blog becomes some version of an adult, we have plenty to celebrate. This … Continue reading Happy 13th birthday, Retraction Watch: Another eventful year  ( 9 min )

“Stock and flow diagrams” are a nice graphical tool for modeling systems, part of a tradition called System Dynamics. Our new software based on category theory lets teams build models using these diagrams: • John Baez, Xiaoyan Li, Sophie Libkind, Nathaniel D. Osgood and Eric Redekopp, A categorical framework for modeling with stock and flow […]  ( 8 min )

“Stock and flow diagrams” are a nice graphical tool for modeling systems, part of a tradition called System Dynamics. Our new software based on category theory lets teams build models using these diagrams: • John Baez, Xiaoyan Li, Sophie Libkind, Nathaniel D. Osgood and Eric Redekopp, A categorical framework for modeling with stock and flow […]  ( 8 min )

Public health researchers suspected that the Covid-19 pandemic had worsened conditions behind bars and harmed prisoners’ mental health. But the lack of reliable data on suicides from state prisons, which violates federal legislation, makes it almost impossible to study the problem, they say.  ( 12 min )

Introduction Continue reading: A Handy Guide to read.delim() in R – Unraveling the Magic of Reading Tabular Data  ( 11 min )

How to join this free online event with Paola Corrales, Elio Campitelli and Maëlle Salmon. Continue reading: Multilingual Publishing  ( 13 min )

How to join this free online event with Maëlle Salmon, Paola Corrales and Elio Campitelli. Continue reading: Proyecto Multilingüe  ( 14 min )

Review of Masha Gessen's "The Man Without A Face"

A 7/29/2023 article by Elaine Mendonça in the online periodical The Best Stocks ("Anticipating Positive Results: Brookfield Renewable Partners to Release Q2 Earnings Data") starts like this: July 28, 2023 – Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP), a leading utilities provider, is set to announce its second-quarter earnings on Friday, August 4th. And after a few […]  ( 13 min )

Morning of diverse short talks. First one on What are the chances? Explaining ε towards endusers by presenting odds and illustrating the impact of including one potential user’s data. Then one on re-placing DP within CI in terms of causality. And multi-agent models, illustrated by the Cambridge Analytics scandal. I am still not getting the […]  ( 7 min )

Morning of diverse short talks. First one on What are the chances? Explaining ε towards endusers by presenting odds and illustrating the impact of including one potential user’s data. Then one on re-placing DP within CI in terms of causality. And multi-agent models, illustrated by the Cambridge Analytics scandal. I am still not getting the […]  ( 7 min )

This incredible site is home to different petroglyphs and pictographs. There are a few from the Archaic period and some from the Fremont period. Before the highway was built, an ancient structure was excavated by archeologists that was right next to the soon-to-be road. This unearthed these amazing petroglyphs and pictographs to view today.  ( 12 min )

The Lewis Ansbacher Map Collection is located on the 4th floor of the Jacksonville Main Library in downtown Jacksonville and is a collection of 24o maps dating back to the 16th century. The maps are displayed along the walls of the room and give the room a feeling of both worldliness and age that isn't commonly found in a city of only 200 years.  ( 12 min )

The alluring, musky fragrance of marigolds floats from a Hindu shrine, as a group of men laugh over ginger-infused milk teas served in clay cups called kulhads. In a nearby perfume distillery, a man turns his head towards the laughter as he crushes a batch of discarded kulhads. Here in Kannauj, a town in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, generations of perfumers have used kulhads and other clay materials to capture an enticing scent known as mitti attar. “It’s the smell of the baked, parched earth when the first rains arrive after a long drought,” says Rajat Mehrotra, co-owner of the family-run Meena Perfumery. Perfumers like Mehrotra, who runs the company with his brother, have been bottling the enigmatic fragrance for centuries. At his office, some 500 feet away from Meena’s t…  ( 21 min )

Painted Rock Beach is full of beautifully painted rocks commemorating family vacations, loved ones who have passed, and gorgeous ocean scenes. While there, you can look through all the different rocks or add your own. The origins of the beach are uncertain, but it's believed the tradition began with a local family during the 1970s.  ( 12 min )

This tower is the second highest vantage point in Whanganui offering the best view in the city and built from shell rock. Designed to commemorate fallen soldiers in World War I, construction started in 1919 but didn't open until 1925 and has 176 steps.  ( 12 min )

This subway station holds a unique distinction in the world of public transportation hubs. The station was built in 1983 with marble from the Apuseni Mountains in Western Romania. Hundreds of people pass through this station every day, but barely anyone takes the time to look down at the floor and notice a peculiar sight. In the marble that composes the floor of the station, visitors will be treated to countless fossils known as rudists. These fossils are about 80 million years old, from the late Jurassic to late Cretaceous period, and are very well preserved. The patterns and shapes are all unique and diverse. Sometimes, geology professors from the University of Bucharest take their students on field trips to the station where they hold lessons about fossils.  ( 12 min )

Thirteen years ago, paleontologist Mario Urbina made a remarkable discovery in the coastal desert of Peru. He had a hunch that it was something really special. But his conclusion was so odd that it took years of excavation and testing to show international scientists that his convictions were right, according to Urbina’s field partner and fellow paleontologist Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, head of the vertebrate paleontology department at the Museum of Natural History in Lima. They were fossil masses, and what Urbina thought they were: preserved bones from a new species of early whale, dating to 39 million years ago. And, it turns out, this one was a whopper. “The authors have definitely found something new. This is a really weird, stupendously large, early whale,” says paleobiologist Nicholas…  ( 18 min )

West of Shinjuku Station and close to Shinjuku Chuo Park, inside the unassuming Shinjuku NS Building office building, resides a 95-foot (29.1 meters) pendulum clock made by Seiko that was once listed as the world's largest. The Yukku-Rhythm Grand Pendulum Clock is gigantic with a pendulum that is around 72 feet (22 meters) in diameter with a pendulum that takes 30 seconds to swing. Outside of the atrium clock, the building has several restaurants and a viewing gallery that provides vistas of neighboring buildings. The building's name came from its co-developers, Nihon Seimei and Sumitomo, who are the building's primary occupants.  ( 12 min )

Madrid was once a city with various walls protected from attackers. Gates were crucial to ensure movement in and out of the city which explains why Madrid is still today a city of gates. Many of the gates once located around Madrid were demolished. Some still remain, while others have given their name to the place where they were once located.  Puerta del Sol (Sun Gate) is actually a square and not a gate, but it owes its name to a long-gone gate that was decorated with a sun and was known to locals as "La Puerta del Sol." There are two possibilities for the origin of the name Puerta del Sol for the square. One of them according to municipal records states that the square got its name from a sun-decorated medieval wall shutter that was destroyed in the 17th century. The other theory is that a gate was built with the sun's rising direction in mind—to the east. The square has undergone many refurbishments, but this symbol remains as a nod to the past.  ( 13 min )

Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. It may seem obvious to say that stargazing is, at its heart, a visual hobby. You sit outside in the darkness, and allow your pupils to dilate, letting in as much faint light as possible—and then you can see the universe. As much as I love to look at the night sky, I am happy to disabuse new stargazers of this notion. Stargazing is multi-sensory. As you visually time travel, seeing light that is hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years old, y…  ( 18 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit one of the world's most important archaeological sites, in the country of Georgia. Senior Editor/Writer Gemma Tarlach tells us about the oldest human skull fossils found outside of Africa, which challenge what we think we know about our deep past. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 13 min )

With the proper setup and a little know-how, baking on your grill is a fun way to incorporate complex and unexpected flavor into baked goods.  ( 19 min )

This smoked ancho skillet brownie is baked on the grill, giving it a light smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with a hint of spice from ground ancho chiles.  ( 18 min )

This bubbly and lightly charred apple crisp is baked directly on the grill to evoke smoky campfire cooking  ( 16 min )

This cornbread achieves a wonderfully smoky and charred flavor by toasting the cornmeal, charring the corn and poblano pepper, and baking on the grill.  ( 16 min )

We spoke to experts to find the best methods for longterm and shortterm wine storage, as well as what to avoid.  ( 17 min )

But first I had to see things from his perspective Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

In reply to Oliver Gray. Yes, you are right! And thanks for your kind words!  ( 11 min )

In reply to Oliver Gray. Thanks, that will be fixed in the next version. You are also reading a section that is much simpler than before (I think/hope), so I hope you like it. But there is also a higher chance of errors or infelicities, so please let me know if you are not happy. The proof of Krull's Principal Ideal Theorem is the same, and I continue to be unhappy that I have not internalized it. But the rest has become much nicer (after I've talked with people, read some Hochster and Qing Liu and some others, and imbibed more folklore).  ( 11 min )

In reply to Oliver Gray. Yes, thanks --- this will be fixed in the next version!  ( 11 min )

1. Jolly Swagman podcast with Katalin Karikó. 2. The worst U.S. bridges are getting fixed. 3. AI policy proposals and regulations.  A good survey of what is being discussed. 4. China fact of the day: The United States still gives foreign aid to China. 5. Ross Douthat on the Jacobites (NYT). The post Further Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to dearieme. I'm reading Christopher Clark's Iron ... by Stan Sitwell In reply to Dinwar. FYI – only about 18% of the US ... by Aging Lurker In reply to Phil S.. What is China spending here propping up ... by John J In reply to George Oh-Well. The entirety of the US ... by Webb 2. We finally get infrastructure week, and it is all. year. ... by john Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

1. Why so much heavy metal in the Nordics? 2. Some new results on economics and personality psychology. 3. Israeli TV on Dan Ariely, with subtitles. 4. What is your chance of surviving a fall from a cruise ship? 5. What is behind the decline in business dynamism? 6. “A zoo in eastern China is […] The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments #4: Drones with searchlights, lifesavers, and inflatable rafts. by A B In reply to Justin. As another poster explained, there are ... by Papa Wheelie In reply to XVO. Yup. To paraphrase a famous Russian named ... by mikeInThe716 In reply to mikeInThe716. Ya because no one would go on a ... by XVO In reply to Dinwar. People really fetishize ‘deep roots’ ... by Mark Z Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

My next series is a few things at once. It’s a reminder that sometimes people will do everything in their power to present evidence supporting scientific facts, be unpersuasive and be sent to a mental hospital by their best friend where they spend the next two weeks being beaten by guards mercilessly and then die. […] The post Clean Hands, Clear Conclusions: Ignaz Semmelweis as a Pioneer of Causal Inference appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to HAL. One oddity in this famous story is that the ... by Steve Sailer In reply to steve. I suspect they thought it would hurt their ... by Michael Watts In reply to mkt42. it took decades to effect this change, ... by Michael Watts In reply to TMC. It's still a problem. It's something I ... by steve In reply to steve. The worst thing about the Semmelweis story ... by Faze Plus 10 more... Related Stories Behavioral Economics and ChatGPT: From William Shakespeare to Elena Ferrante New Econ Lesson Plans! Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five  ( 5 min )

Surprise, surprise, disclosures are bloated past the point of being informally useful: Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can fundamentally change the way investors process information. We probe the economic usefulness of these tools in summarizing complex corporate disclosures using the stock market as a laboratory. The unconstrained summaries are dramatically shorter, often by more […] The post Can ChatGPT Help Investors Process Financial Information? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments > We show that bloated disclosure is associated with adverse ... by Worley There are an awful lot of non-sentences in this post. by WJS When I see a hedge fund advertising the use of ChatGPT, I will ... by Alan Goldhammer In reply to bob. Ah, Charlie Munger’s infamous ... by We will now begin the Q and A portion of today’s call In reply to We will now begin the Q and A portion of today’s ... by bob Plus 10 more... Related Stories Behavioral Economics and ChatGPT: From William Shakespeare to Elena Ferrante Would room temperature superconductivity benefit military offense or defense? Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five  ( 5 min )

I found them very interesting to watch, and wrote my last Bloomberg column on them.  Here is one excerpt: I do not think that the US government has the remains of alien spacecraft, for example, including some alien bodies, as claimed by retired Air Force Major David Grusch. But the rest of the evidence was […] The post My views on the UFO hearings appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to William of LA. “Economics is not a hard science ... by EdR In reply to Tryna Help. I would also like to see some sort of ... by JDRox In reply to Tyler Cowen. okey dokey the federales have a ... by klaus barbie In reply to Ralph. Ralph, Ralph, Ralph … tsk tsk … You ... by EdR In reply to Joe Biden Authorized the Iraq War. The downvotes ... by EdR Plus 10 more... Related Stories The European Visa Mess Sri Lanka travel notes Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five  ( 5 min )

Plus: The worries of Minnesotans nearing retirement; Hmong community warns Biden against cluster bomb use; Rochester residents to vote on $10 million tech funding; and more.  ( 7 min )

The challenges facing Lesley Kandaras include ridership that is recovering but is still not back to pre-pandemic levels, increased crime and disruption on transit and a shortage of both transit operators and transit police.  ( 38 min )

Program in need of Fellows and host sites for 2023-24 school year.  ( 11 min )

It’s been more than a year since an 1849 law came back into force to criminalize abortion in Wisconsin. Now these two OB-GYNs and a certified midwife find their medical training, skill, and acumen constrained by state politics.  ( 19 min )

Emmer raised about $5.3 million in the first six months of this year in his personal campaign account and PACs, more money than he raised in the entire, two-year,  2021-2022 campaign cycle.  ( 13 min )

Plus: Lizzo sued by former dancers; “Pawn Stars” coming to Minneapolis; Grand Marais adds marijuana ordinance; and more.  ( 6 min )

Also ETFs and bond market liquidity, Armenian ruble arbitrage, Binance.US and double insider trading.  ( 2 min )

In Mandarin, this dish is called: suō diū 嗦丢 "suck and throw away" It's not as zany and lacking in historical grounding as you might think. Zihan Guo observes: Diū is a common verb meaning to "leave behind; lose; throw away". Suō 嗦 describes how to slurp and the sound of slurping. We usually say […]  ( 8 min )

The number of extreme wave events—when crests are taller than 13 feet—have doubled along California since the mid-20th century

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” says a paleontologist not involved in the discovery of a 40-million-year-old fossilized whale

Oppenheimer won’t bomb in the box office, but despite its director’s best efforts, the science in the film is a bit of a fizzle

Our financial systems need to be overhauled to avoid the kind of social-media-fueled bank run that killed Silicon Valley Bank

More training and more data can have unintended consequences for machine-learning models such as GPT-4

Drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic might help people tackle substance abuse as well as shed pounds.

John “Jaws” Williams writes: Here is something about a century-old study that you may find interesting, and could file under “everything old is new again.” In 1919, the California Division of Fish and Game began studying the developing sardine fishery … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

Effective sanitation and a low-cost vaccine can prevent cholera outbreaks. But a recent unexpected surge in global cases shows that logistical challenges, vaccines shortages, and funding shortfalls — combined with a neglect towards long-term solutions — still make it difficult to stop the deadly disease.  ( 17 min )

R and Shiny Training: If you find this blog to be interesting, please note that I offer personalized and group-based training sessions that may be reserved through Buy me a Coffee. Additionally, I provide training services in the Spanish language ... Continue reading: Plotting a COVID-19 vaccination map with different projections (with updated versions of canadamaps and tintin)  ( 10 min )

Introduction Continue reading: The unlist() Function in R  ( 12 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

Bob Shackleton sent in this photo of a sign: He followed up with a link to Neal Whitman, "Trespassers Will Be Trespassed", Visual Thesaurus 4/25/2013, which reacts to another transitive-trespass sign: Which reminds me of an experience from 50-odd years ago, recounted in "Those who are not authorized are not authorized", 8/9/2003. The OED gives […]  ( 7 min )

Astonishing demonstration of East-West interaction during Roman times (with an equally mind-boggling demonstration of the occasional, yet horrendous [defying common sense], ineptitude of AI translation): "Geheimnis um Messergriff aus dem römerzeitlichen Wels gelüftet" Ein vor über 100 Jahren entdeckter Elfenbeingriff mit rätselhafter Inschrift aus dem antiken Ovilava gehörte wohl einst einem Besucher aus dem fernen […]  ( 14 min )

Very relaxed beginning to the workshop, with [xkcd illustrated] tutorials on CI and DP, plus informal discussions to find a common ground over the week. Helped by the beautiful surroundings of the UBC Okanagan campus. Tutorial on the fundamentals of differential privacy, with a long room discussion on the meaning(s) of the definition, for instance […]  ( 7 min )

Very relaxed beginning to the workshop, with [xkcd illustrated] tutorials on CI and DP, plus informal discussions to find a common ground over the week. Helped by the beautiful surroundings of the UBC Okanagan campus. Tutorial on the fundamentals of differential privacy, with a long room discussion on the meaning(s) of the definition, for instance […]  ( 7 min )

...

Plus more CFTC, X, and UFOs

In Karen, a leafy suburb of Nairobi, chef Dennis Ang’ani whips up a unique fusion experience for just 12 visitors per seating on a greenery-laden cabin terrace. The multi-course dining concept is primarily inspired by local produce and traditional East African recipes done up with culinary techniques picked up by Ang’ani abroad. Root and vine vegetables are freshly plucked from Embark’s own gardens. Ingredients are showcased using European techniques, from foams to fermentation, with elaborate presentations, and occasional garnishes of flowers plucked from Nairobi’s Physic Garden. Expect a walk on the earthy side: a chilled banana and rum soup with a garden salad in Bailey’s and macadamia nut vinaigrette, seared tofu in Ethiopian shiro (a spicy chickpea sauce), or mini plantain burgers. Vegetable-based desserts often tread into especially wild, savory territory; from Amarula-braised eggplant with aerated broccoli ice cream, to ugali (corn maize) with creamed spinach. All in all, the menu reflects Ang’ani’s multicultural experiences. After growing up in a German-Kenyan household, he moved around Europe working in kitchens from the Baltics to Barcelona, and fluently speaks German, English, Swahili, and Spanish. Though as a child he dreamed of becoming a pro soccer player in Europe, he maintains that bringing an innovative approach to the African fine-dining scene has been a more fulfilling challenge for him than any league could be; and even requires similar skills like dexterity, teamwork and performance under pressure.  A picture of Coach Pep Guardiola, one of Ang’ani’s heroes, hanging from a wall-mounted handwoven basket, helps him to remember the importance of being a good leader and most importantly, to never be limited by conventionality and cultural borders.  ( 13 min )

The Devil's Porridge refers to the explosive that was mixed at HM Gretna. Gun cotton and nitroglycerin were kneaded together by the munitions girls to make RDB cordite. This mixture got its name because looked like a deadly form of porridge. Prior to the building of HM Grenta, this location was quiet, with only a few farms and villages in the area. Then World War I began. In just 12 months, the government acquired the land and built a massive factory. The HM Gretna site was huge, it covered a distance of nine miles, stretching down to England. There were 30,000 workers, 12,000 of whom were women. Lots of the munitions girls moved to the area, especially to work at the factory, moving from areas like Durham, Darlington, and Sunderland. The chemicals were highly toxic, the girls' skin would turn yellow and they often lost all of their teeth. The contribution to the war effort made by the munitions girls here at HM Gretna helped women achieve the vote in the United Kingdom. By 1917, the factory was producing 1,100 tons of cordite a week. This was significantly more than all the other munitions factories in Britain put together. This explosive was then shipped out to the troops on the front line. The museum has a special version of a train, a fireless locomotive, designed to safely transport the explosive on display in the grounds. The museum tells the story of the girls who worked here and the Irish navvies who built the massive factory. It also covers a horrific troop train crash at Quintinshill. While the second floor is dedicated to WWII. With a small section covering nuclear power and the local nuclear power station.  ( 13 min )

When a familiar siren blares through the small town of Eden on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, people start to gather. It’s not a warning of a tsunami or other disaster, but for a far more pleasant occurrence: a whale sighting. Occasionally, a baleen whale, such as a humpback, strays from the migratory superhighway off the coast and into Twofold Bay in Eden. The alarm atop the tiny town’s killer whale museum is sounded to notify the town’s 3,000 or so residents and any tourists to this scenic stretch of coastline. Over 150 years ago, the town hosted a different marine show. Orcas, or killer whales, the largest of the dolphin family, used to visit this bay every winter, and were vital to a unique way of life in Eden. Humans didn’t just watch the orcas, but rather worked side by s…  ( 26 min )

Upon first glance, this may look like just another historic building found across Boston. However, upon entering the Liberty Hotel, one realizes this was no ordinary building but rather once a jail that was in operation for more than a century. Originally known as the Charles Street Jail or  Suffolk County Jail, it's located on the west end of the city overlooking the Charles River. It was constructed between 1848-1851 and proposed by Mayor Martin Brimmer during his inaugural address of 1843 as a replacement for the older Leverett Street Jail. The original jail was built using Quincy granite with four wings extending from a central octagonal rotunda and housed around 220 cells. The prisoners were segregated by sex and nature of offense with 30 arched windows providing ventilation and natural light. Throughout its years of operation, it housed a wide range of inmates from mob hitmen to a former governor. In 1973, the United States District Court ruled that due to overcrowding and neglected conditions, the constitutional rights of the inmates were being violated and the jail closed in 1990. It reopened in 2007 as the Liberty Hotel with much of the historic architecture still preserved.  ( 13 min )

Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí did not venture much outside Catalonia to work. One of those few occasions was when he accepted the chance to work on this palace in Astorga, León. Bishop Joan Baptista Grau I Vallespinós decided to entrust the construction of the new episcopal palace to his friend Gaudí, who just like the bishop, came from Reus, Tarragona. Gaudí's imaginative touch is evident in the innovative use of materials, incorporating iron, brick, and ceramics alongside traditional stone. Gaudí made a significant mark on the Episcopal Palace in Astorga, Spain, with his distinctive architectural style. The palace, constructed between 1889 and 1915, stands as a brilliant fusion of various influences, showcasing Gaudí's innovative ideas and artistic vision. The most striking feature of Gaudí's intervention in the palace is the facade. Adorned with a combination of organic and geometric motifs, it reflects his fascination with nature and its organic forms. The building's interiors also bear Gaudí's creative flair, with unique decorative elements and functional yet aesthetically pleasing spaces. Gaudí's work on the Episcopal Palace in Astorga exemplifies his ability to transform existing architectural designs into masterpieces that harmoniously blend traditional and avant-garde styles. The building stands today as a testament to Gaudí's genius, drawing visitors from around the world to marvel at its beauty and architectural significance.  ( 13 min )

Last month, we announced our first photo contest, when we asked readers for creative shots of their favorite roadside attractions. At Atlas Obscura, we adore the spectacles lurking beside roads all over the world, so we asked: What turned your heads recently recently? Since then, we received more than 600 images of fascinating sights. Readers sent us technicolor dinosaurs dressed up for Halloween, black-and-white gravestones, curious art hidden in deserts. Reviewing these submissions reminded us how much fun it can be to make stops on a long journey—or perhaps a roadside attraction is your destination! Check out our wonderful winning photos (click to see the up close), selected by our staff—the first place winner is above. We hope it will inspire many great summer road trips! Congratulations to our winners, who scored some Atlas Obscura gear! Look out for our future Summer Snaps contests! Enter the next one here. Second Place Third Place Honorable Mentions  ( 14 min )

Bees and wasps drinking water to cool themselves down isn’t an unusual sight on a sweltering summer day, but a tiny drinking fountain tailor-made for their kind may be rather rare. Hitokotonushi Shrine in the city of Jōsō, Ibaraki Prefecture, is known for such a drinking fountain catering to the thirsty little bees, which has been set up every summer since 2020. This small act of kindness has been appreciated by hundreds of bees—and warmed the hearts of thousands. The honeybee drinking fountain was first created in 2016, but it did not reappear for the next four years due to the lack of apian visitors during that time. Attached to the ablution pavilion, the fountain’s platform is made from bamboo and stuffed with moss, which provides a footing for the bees and creates the feeling of a serene fairytale scene. The small sign standing on the drinking fountain reads “a drinking spot reserved for groups of honeybees,” but paper wasps are also often seen drinking water from it. They do not only drink water to cool themselves down, but also carry it back to their hives to keep the temperature comfortable so that the babies are not harmed by the summer heat.  ( 13 min )

Although nobody can guarantee whether the remains of Ibn Battuta are really kept inside this impressive white mausoleum, this is perhaps the closest one can get to one of the greatest explorers in history. Ibn Battuta, the famous Moroccan explorer, and traveler, is widely regarded as one of the greatest travelers in history. He embarked on a remarkable journey in the 14th century that took him through Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and beyond, covering a distance believed to be over 75,000 miles. Battuta was born in Tangier in 1304 and set out on his travels at the age of 21. His adventures spanned nearly three decades, during which he explored various regions, experienced different cultures, and met numerous rulers and dignitaries. His written account, known as the Rihla, provides invaluable insights into the medieval world, shedding light on the diverse cultures, customs, and political landscapes of the places he visited. Battuta's travelogue serves as a significant historical source, capturing the socio-economic conditions, religious practices, and intercultural exchanges of the time, making it an indispensable resource for scholars and a captivating literary work that continues to inspire wanderlust and cultural curiosity. There are plenty of historical markers or memorials related to Battuta in the city, given his significant contribution to Moroccan and world history. As a prominent figure, he is also celebrated throughout Morocco and the broader Muslim world for his travel accounts and contributions to geographical knowledge.  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we head just a couple hours south of Albuquerque to Hatch, New Mexico, a town where the heat doesn’t just come from the sun. It also comes from the signature crop: Hatch chiles. This episode is produced in partnership with GoUSA TV. If you want to see more of the series Small Town, Big Story, watch now on GoUSA TVor YouTube. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 16 min )

I wrote in a draft grant proposal related to machine-learning emulators today. I wrote about five different kinds of emulators. Yes I think there are five qualitatively distinct kinds. Here they are: Full replacement Integrator Resolution translatorPhysics in-painterStatistics generatorThe most extreme—and most standard—kind of emulator is one that simply replaces the full input–output relationship of the entire simulation. Thus if the simulation starts with initial conditions and boundary conditions, and ends with a final state (after an integration), the full-replacement emulator would be trained to learn the full relationship between the initial and boundary conditions and the final state. A full-replacement emulator is a complete, plug-in replacement for the simulator.Simulation ru…  ( 15 min )

Here are the slides for my talk at Applied Category Theory 2023, in case anyone wants a look at them before I give the talk—or during, or after: • Software for compositional modeling in epidemiology. The talk is on Wednesday August 2nd, 14:00 UTC, which is 10 am Eastern Time. Eventually a video should appear […]  ( 7 min )

Critique groups and book clubs need guidelines and steering. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

The power of originality trumps conventional wisdom Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Or: that time a studio told me to spec a TV pilot for it even though I had an A-list actor attached to the project Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Plus: Increase in Great Lakes drownings; first marijuana recreational dispensary; I-35 bridge collapse anniversary; Shakopee leaders scuttle affordable housing development; “Ghostbusters” actor Ernie Hudson spotted at Ingebretsen's; and more.  ( 7 min )

Yes. Iowa's unemployment rate has averaged lower than Minnesota's between January and June 2023, but just slightly — by less than one-tenth of one percent.  ( 6 min )

Minnesotans need pathways to financial sustainability for Fairview Health and the U of M.  ( 22 min )

The latest show comes at the heels of a new single and a music video Dessa dropped today from her forthcoming new album, “Bury the Lede,” which will be released on September 29.  ( 18 min )

To meet company investment targets, the typical CenterPoint customer will see their monthly delivery charges more than triple between 2023 and 2040.  ( 11 min )

To many Democrats it’s an unwelcome “distraction.”  ( 12 min )

Plus: fish in Lake Rebecca found to have "forever chemicals"; Ramble on Records closes shop; record breaking year for Twin Cities regional parks; and more.  ( 6 min )

Buttermilk's uses go beyond waffles and biscuits (though we have recipes for those, too!).  ( 14 min )

We tested eight popular indoor herb gardens to find out which was the easiest to use and grew herbs the best.  ( 25 min )

For fermentation of all kinds, we love E-Jen Kimchi Containers. Here’s why.  ( 18 min )

In response to a tweet of mine, someone pointed me to the thought-provoking 2001 paper Bad is Stronger Than Good: Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have more impact than good ones, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good. The self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. … There appear to be more words for negative than positive emotions. … bad [news] events are more newsworthy and attract more reader attention.

Scientists altered the genomes of female fruit flies, allowing them to reproduce without any contribution from a male

A glitch may have silenced NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft until mid-October—but a “heartbeat” signal offers hope for reestablishing contact earlier

A glitch may have silenced NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft until mid-October—but a “heartbeat” signal offers hope for reestablishing contact earlier

A resurfaced idea for solar geoengineering imagines a sunlight-blocking space shield tethered to an asteroid

What does it take to correct the scientific record? And who—and what—stands in the way? The answer to both questions is: everyone

We need satellites and rocket bodies designed with an end-of-life plan to keep space uncluttered and navigable

When it’s time to rebuild, we must prioritize more sustainable and resilient infrastructure in Ukraine

New research identifies genome areas linked to dietary patterns and our taste for things such as tea, tobacco and grapes

A Nobel laureate in economics explains how artificial intelligence will affect inequality—and how solutions such as a shorter work week might mitigate its negative effects

We prompted GPT-4 (an artificial intelligence large language model) to use literary fictional characters to play the Dictator game, a classic behavioral economics experiment. We prompted GPT-4 with 148 characters from the 17th century to the 21st century. Their 888 decisions were used to compare characters over time as well as characters to human players. […] The post Behavioral Economics and ChatGPT: From William Shakespeare to Elena Ferrante appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Equestrian. Last used is happening. On one hand, ... by Equestrian In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 18:34:22 The Webmaster, Alex, ... by Bill In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 18:34:22 by Bill In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 15:35 by Bill In reply to Dismalist. Way below! by Dismalist Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart Scrap AMC/KYC Laws How to assign property rights in actor AI likenesses  ( 5 min )

1. Granny flats for Ireland (and where else?) 2. An old PayPal story. 3. “Atkin, Schoar & Shinde have what I believe is first work from home field experiment w/ worker learning. India data entry firm. WFH causally drops productivity 12% at day 0, 6% more from slow learning over time. If workers self-select, it’s […] The post Tuesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to RAD. Only skimmed it but the Shamir secret key ... by LivelyClock In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 12:42:18. Equestrian, don't ... by Bill In reply to EdR. It's Equestrian. by Bill In reply to bazza. Granny In My Back Yard? by DonH In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 12:41:05 by Bill Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

The latest video for Marginal Revolution University’s Principles of Micro course is on a topic near and dear to our hearts: marginal thinking! (Not to mention the sunk cost fallacy and bell-bottom jeans.) MRU is also featuring this video in a new high school unit plan, “Introduction to Economics.” This unit has a week’s worth […] The post New Econ Lesson Plans! appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to joan. What's the alternative? by Defektor If marginal reasoning is not innate for most peoples, economic ... by joan In reply to joan. “Perhaps not since the Dark Ages has the ... by Dismalist Alex Awesome that you make these available free of charge. ... by John In reply to joan. Knowing the vocab is actually pretty ... by bazza Plus 3 more... Related Stories Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five The economics of NBA contracts Are “circuit breakers” overrated?  ( 4 min )

A US passport used to allow visa free travel to more countries than almost any other passport. No longer. Yahoo: The days of visa-free travel throughout most of Europe are about to change. Starting early next year, the European Union will implement the European Travel Information and Authorization System requiring all visitors from visa-free countries […] The post The European Visa Mess appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments “This is not a logical response. ” It may very well be. ... by meagain In reply to Ricardo. That's interesting, just looked it up. ... by Hoosier In reply to It is different. You have no guarnantee of entry ... by Matt You can have your “world with no passports” when we get a ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Some Toronto guy. Yes, now that the world is ... by Butler T. Reynolds Plus 10 more... Related Stories Sri Lanka travel notes Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five How to eat well in Sri Lanka  ( 5 min )

If, if, if, people we still do not know yet.  But I am one who likes to ask if, and GPT-4 plus is willing to accommodate those desires: Room temperature superconductivity could potentially benefit both offensive and defensive military capabilities, but it will depend on how this technology is applied. Offense: The military could potentially […] The post Would room temperature superconductivity benefit military offense or defense? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Lord Action. Thank you for your thoughtful ... by Bill Superconductive materials allow you to generate big currents ... by not chat gpt In reply to Jon Carmel. Rail guns have already been ... by TomR ChatGPT silliness aside, it's kind of a useless question. ... by Dagon In reply to dearieme. The word “chat” meaning cat is ... by 200 billion dollars by 3pm Plus 10 more... Related Stories Behavioral Economics and ChatGPT: From William Shakespeare to Elena Ferrante Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five The political impact of social media has been grossly overrated  ( 5 min )

The following was compiled by Shruti Rajagopalan, who directs Emergent Ventures India.  I will not indent the material: Ankita Vijayvergiya is a computer Science Engineer and an entrepreneur. She founded BillionCarbon along with her co-founder Nikhil Vijayvergiya, to work on solving two problems that plague India – soil degradation and managing biodegradable waste. At BillionCarbon, […] The post Emergent Ventures India, Cohort Five appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments “ Ankur Paliwal is an independent journalist who writes about ... by Josh kZ In reply to Not Woke. MR has bunch of excellent pricks by Author! In reply to Anonymous. Yes, all except one of them sound like ... by Not Woke In reply to Marky Mark. Tata and ArcelorMittal come to mind, ... by M Yes, a v impressive array of talent! Then there are the South ... by Marky Mark Plus 3 more... Related Stories The political impact of social media has been grossly overrated My excellent Conversation with the excellent Noam Dworman The Economics of Export Bans  ( 10 min )

Also Hex, FTT and Apollo’s apologies.  ( 2 min )

The publisher Wiley has fired the chief editor of the Journal of Biogeography after he resigned over conflicts with the company.   Michael Dawson, a professor at the University of California, Merced, submitted his resignation on June 21, tweeting that he made the decision “because journal management declined to explore productive solutions to a suite of … Continue reading An editor resigned in protest. Now, Wiley is firing him four months earlier than he planned to leave.  ( 7 min )

Here are the slides for my talk at Applied Category Theory 2023, in case anyone wants a look at them before I give the talk—or during, or after: • Software for compositional modeling in epidemiology. The talk is on Wednesday August 2nd, 14:00 UTC, which is 10 am Eastern Time. Eventually a video should appear […]  ( 7 min )

When Al Pacino first emerged onto the big screen in the 1970s, acting was never the same. His unmistakable presence and energy opened a window to a whole new style of performance. Through his vulnerability and unique blend of internal angst and volatile expressiveness, Pacino became an anti-Hollywood star. He has starred in many modern […]  ( 10 min )

web0  ( 1 min )

Jonathan Falk writes: This is an interesting story of heterogeneity of response, and an interesting story of “adversarial collaboration,” and an interesting PNAS piece. I need to read it again later this weekend, though, to see if the stats make … Continue reading →  ( 16 min )

Sooner or later, most R programmers end up with code that no longer runs because of package updates. One way to address the problem was the MRAN Time Machine which Microsoft retired on July 1, 2023. You can get similar functionality for source packages using “dateback,” thanks to Ryota Suzuki. As with ... Continue reading: Ensure R Language Reproducibility with dateback Package  ( 10 min )

What makes a ML model a black-box? It is the interactions. Without any interactions, the ML model is additive and can be exactly described. Studying interaction effects of ML models is challenging. The main XAI approaches are: This post is mainly about the third approach. Its beauty is that we ... Continue reading: It’s the interactions  ( 11 min )

Today’s TidyTuesday takes some data about US states from Wikipedia. Embedding... Continue reading: States  ( 15 min )

Introduction Continue reading: R Functions for Getting Objects  ( 11 min )

Just install.packages(), he said. CRAN has spoiled us. Most of the time, it’s a breeze to add new packages to our Continue reading: She issued install.packages() — you won’t believe what happened next!  ( 17 min )

Summary Continue reading: My Life with the R-universe  ( 18 min )

After 11.3.13 Proposition, "intersection of any two affine open subsets of A" should be "of X"?  ( 10 min )

A hot summer and dry spring have brought drought to a large part of the Midwest. While sporadic, intense rain events and soil conditions affect the region’s ability to recover, the lack of moisture has far-reaching implications, including on agriculture and water levels on the country’s largest rivers.  ( 13 min )

Team Ratings for Round 23 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Panthers 12.70 12.99 -0.30 Storm 7.61 11.21 -3.60 Cowboys 5.33 6.23 -0.90 Rabbitohs […] NRL Predictions for Round 23 first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

Team Ratings for Week 1 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Canterbury 9.44 9.44 0.00 Wellington 8.72 8.72 0.00 North Harbour 7.75 7.75 -0.00 […] Bunnings NPC Predictions for Week 1 first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 3 min )

bogwarts coding comics ⮫ unix_surrealism 📌 <ø\‣ ⮫ ⇾ solarpunk.cool zines! ⇾ The Map is the Territory  ( 1 min )

Very relaxed beginning to the workshop, with [xkcd illustrated] tutorials on CI and DP, plus informal discussions to find a common ground over the week. Helped by the beautiful surroundings of the UBC Okanagan campus. Tutorial on the fundamentals of differential privacy, with a long room discussion on the meaning(s) of the definition, for instance […]  ( 7 min )

Very relaxed beginning to the workshop, with [xkcd illustrated] tutorials on CI and DP, plus informal discussions to find a common ground over the week. Helped by the beautiful surroundings of the UBC Okanagan campus. Tutorial on the fundamentals of differential privacy, with a long room discussion on the meaning(s) of the definition, for instance […]  ( 7 min )

Following a link from a NYT editorial, I came upon a transcribed interview of Douglas Hofstadter on his fright about the current nature of AI and in particular of the impact of (surprise, surprise!) ChatGPT. When the French translation of Gödel, Escher, Bach came out in 1985, it became an immediate success, I read it, […]  ( 8 min )

Very minor: in the paragraph following 12.3.A, there's an extraneous "it".  ( 10 min )

In 12.2.L, the bold sentence seems to be missing a verb, "we define", maybe. I'd just like to say how much I've got out of your notes and the AGITTOC lectures - your time and generosity is greatly appreciated :-)  ( 10 min )

In reply to Jan Willing. Thank you Jan! These are all right, and I've edited both appropriately.  ( 13 min )

In reply to Clemens. You are right on all three counts, and they are all patched. Thanks!  ( 13 min )

In reply to Pengcheng Zhang. Thanks, now fixed! (Unfortunately I will have added a lot of errors like this, while making the index, where spaces have accidentally disappeared.)  ( 13 min )

One thing we discovered this past academic year is that NASA took more than 300,000 images of Saturn's rings! Today I met with Maya Nesen (NYU) and Ana Pacheco (NYU) to look at raw spacecraft data. Nesen is working on the tabulated housekeeping data, giving the position and orientation of the spacecraft and instruments in various coordinate systems (that we are trying to work out). Pacheco is working on the raw imaging data from the imaging module. We discussed how to display the imaging so that an astronomer can confirm the the noise level and rough noise properties in the pixels. We discussed adjustments to our plots of the housekeeping data to aid in our interpretation of it. In particular, we looked at some of the camera-related meta data and it looks like the camera might have a few different zoom settings. I guess we have to read some documentation!CassiniCassini  ( 14 min )

A new version of the notes is available here. (It, and all older versions, are available at the usual place.) The main change from the previous version: The index is potentially done. Now the editing I will do will be primarily in response to comments and suggestions from others. I am very interested in any […]  ( 10 min )

It’s not: “What should I say?” Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Pre-submit your Medium Day questions, a look at Boost Nominations, and updates to The Writing Cooperative.  ( 10 min )

Let’s change it. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Collective narratives reveal much about the essential longings of the human spirit Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Across the United States, there is no shortage of historical churches. Ranging from different time periods, denominations, and congregations, churches across America have been a defining feature throughout the nation's history. Although many churches have a unique history, there is one church in Framingham that has a particularly notable distinction as being the first public performance and singing of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The church was founded in 1701 and by the time of the American Civil War, it was called the Hollis Evangelical Congregational Church. On the evening of February 22, 1862, the residents of Framingham gathered in the church to celebrate the 130th anniversary of George Washington's birthday and read aloud his 1796 farewell address as encouraged by President Lincoln via national proclamation three days earlier. The speech was read by Norman School principal George Bigelow and the program was concluded with the singing of Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe which was published in The Atlantic Monthly that same month.  The song became extremely renowned in the United States with its abolitionist and religious themes resonating strongly with supporters of the Union cause during the American Civil War. It was one of the most popular songs among Union troops and became a staple of United States military music. Today, it's considered a classic patriotic song with many renditions, tributes, and parodies.  ( 13 min )

Pune shares a wonderful relationship with hills. Both within and around the city, there are several lush green hills where visitors can find historic forts, temples, monuments, and caves. ARAI Hill, also known as Vetal Hill, is the highest point in the city at an elevation of over 2,000 feet. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is located here. A temple of Vetal and a few other temples are also located on the hill. A short distance from ARAI and the temples is a large abandoned stone quarry that has formed a lake. The quarry is a paradise for nature lovers. Every morning and evening, people visit the hill for walking, jogging, photography, bird watching, yoga, meditation, exploring nature, and watching the city from one of its highest points. The hill is accessible from multiple areas, as there are walking trails from all sides. All the trails converge towards the center at the top, where the stone quarry lake is located. Some portions of the hill are covered with dense trees, while others are grasslands. The quarry lake, with its marshy areas and shallow waters, has created a wetland with an ecosystem of its own. One can spot several rare and exotic bird species here. The hill is home to a variety of flora and fauna. The views offered from here are breathtaking. One can see the city stretching into the distance where there are more hills at the horizon.  ( 13 min )

Billiken is one of the many iconic mascots of Osaka, alongside the Glico marathon runner and the gigantic crab. Also called Billiken-san, this narrow-eyed dwarf with an onion-shaped head is said to be a lucky god, particularly revered by merchants who believe that rubbing the feet of his effigy brings you good luck. While he is well-known across Japan, it often goes unmentioned that he does not originate in Japan, but in Kansas City, Missouri. Billiken, the "god of things as they ought to be," was designed circa 1907-1908 by illustrator Florence Pretz for her friend Sarah Hamilton Birchall's stories published in The Canada West magazine. He instantly proved to be a hit, exceptionally profitable (except to the designer herself, much to her chagrin). Billiken statuettes were warmly receive…  ( 14 min )

King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia presided over the inauguration of the Queen Victoria Bridge on June 13, 1909. The bridge was named in honor of the king's wife. It connects Bombilla Park, the two hermitages of San Antonio de la Florida, with the Colonia de San Antonio de La Florida and the Colonia del Manzanares. Based on a design by architect Julio Martnez-Zapata Rodriguez, it was built by engineer José Eugenio Ribera Dutaste. The bridge includes two, parallel elliptical reinforced concrete arches that are decorated in modernist style. It also has two lanes for cars. Additionally, Queen Victoria Bridge is one of Spain's earliest concrete bridges. Four vases and eight cast-iron lampposts decorated by Francisco Iglesias with bears serve as its adornment. During the Second Spanish Republic, the bridge changed its name to Puente de Galicia. After the Spanish Civil War, it recovered its original name. On one of its sides, visitors can see a commemorative plaque placed on June 13, 1999, to celebrate its 19th anniversary. Its ornamental components, which are mostly concentrated on the board, reflect the modernist trends of the day. Four vases and eight iron lampposts (two and four at each end) are placed on it, at the base of which different rampant bears appear, in a clear reference to the heraldic shield of Madrid.  ( 13 min )

In 1899 when the Moore-Lindsay Historical House was constructed it cost approximately $5,000, ten times what the average home in the area cost to build. William Moore and his wife Agnes were an important part of society in Norman. The house was later sold to Agnes’ niece and her husband, Harry, and Daisy Lindsay. The remnants of Daisy Lindsay’s locally famous rose garden can still be seen on the property next door. In the 1960s, the family sold the house and it was divided into apartments. They didn’t last long, however, before the building was condemned. The city of Norman saved the house and opened it as a museum in the 1970s.  The museum is now furnished as an example of the typical Oklahoma Victorian house. The house contains artifacts from around Cleveland County, including a woman’s side-saddle ridden by Martha Giles in the Land Run of 1889.         The museum hosts frequent events for both adults and children, including tea parties, soap-making, embroidery classes, children’s camps, and even paranormal investigations.  ( 12 min )

St. Stephen’s Basilica is one of the most popular attractions in the Hungarian capital, and Uncle Karl has kept a watchful eye on it since 1987. Standing in the market square, the “Fat Policeman” statue was created by Finnish sculptor Kaarlo Mikkonen (1920-2001) and has since become a beloved icon of the city. Nicknamed Uncle Karl, the affable bronze copper is clad in a circa-mid-20th-century uniform, complete with a dated helmet and a dapper mustachio. Uncle Karl is notable for his belly, which has a gloriously golden patina—a clear sign that it has been rubbed by many. Local superstition has it that rubbing his belly grants you good luck and immunity against weight gain so that one can enjoy as much Hungarian food as they like.  ( 13 min )

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JULY 29, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. If you spent any time on the website formerly known as Twitter in the last few months, you may have seen a vintage menu going viral. The menu, dated to February 17, 1941, is from the Warner Bros. Studio Cafe in Burbank, California. What made it so fascinating was the sheer amount of food and the number of midcentury oddities on offer. The hungry starlet or sound technician, if their wallets allowed, could start with imported caviar, follow it up with a T-bone steak, and finish their meal with a glass of half-and-half. It’s incredible how many details about the era jump off a single page. One of the daily specials was “hot dogs with Liberty cabbage and carrots.…  ( 22 min )

This story was originally published on The Conversation and appears here under a Creative Commons license. Rivers have been the lifeblood of human civilization throughout history, and yet we know surprisingly little about what lives in many of them—including the giant creatures that prowl their depths. While we know the biggest animal in the ocean is the blue whale and the largest marine fish is the whale shark, the identity of the world’s largest freshwater fish species long remained a mystery. Until 2022, that is, when fishers in Cambodia caught a giant freshwater stingray in the remote reaches of the Mekong River. Weighing an astounding 661 pounds, the stingray surpassed by 15 pounds a giant catfish caught in Thailand in 2005 that had previously been considered the unofficial …  ( 20 min )

Coyoacán was once a town completely separate from Mexico City. As such, it needed its own central square, what is now the Plaza Hidalgo. When this plaza was being built, a large stone ring with a figure carved on it was unearthed. This was a tlachtemalácatl, the name in Náhuatl (the language of the Aztec/Mexica people) for the "goals" of the Mesoamerican Ballgame. Known as tlachtli, variants of this game were played by the Indigenous peoples of most of Mexico and Central America, almost always with ritualistic and symbolic purposes. This particular malacatl of the tlachtli game was so well-carved that it was kept after being found, and eventually placed in a prominent position in the Jesús Reyes Heroles House of Culture, in what is now the Mexico City borough of Coyoacán. This cultural center was once an actual house, and its late 18th-century architecture shows it. It also functioned as a paper factory for some time, and in 1985, was established as a House of Culture. Its namesake, Jesús Reyes Heroles, was a significant 20th-century intellectual who delved into law, politics, and history. Usually advocating in favor of democratic values and human rights, his legacy led to many institutions other than this center being named after him.  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we hear the story of how, in the Soviet Union, X-rays didn’t just offer a look inside the human body. They also gave a glimpse of the outside world, thanks to music that was imprinted onto this unassuming medical tool. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 13 min )

Atlas Obscura's fortnightly crossword comes to us from creator Laura Braunstein and editor Stella Zawistowski, members of Inkubator, which publishes crossword puzzles by women and nonbinary constructors. You can see more puzzles in their book, Inkubator Crosswords: 100 Audacious Puzzles from Women and Nonbinary Creators. You can solve the puzzle below, or download it in .pdf or .puz. Note that the links in the clues will take you to Atlas Obscura pages that may contain the answer. Happy solving!  ( 12 min )

All routes out of the landlocked country touch China or Russia, presenting diplomatic and physical challenges

Scientists used a smoking machine—complete with a 3-D-printed mouthpiece—to figure out how to get the most cannabinoid per puff.

A clinical health psychologist talks about Barbie’s influence on how women and girls view their body

Unisexual salamanders in the genus Ambystoma appear to be the only creatures in the world that reproduce the way they do. Researchers know how, but the why is still being figured out.

A study suggests a complex interplay between bodily feeling, emotion and art

At least some of our planet’s water was carried here by hydrogen-rich space rocks, but it’s not yet clear how much

A surprisingly simple answer to a mathematical puzzle intrigues the math world

New technology combines electricity and drugs to stimulate healing of tenacious wounds

As “zombie” fires become more common, new research shows they arise from an unexpected source

Here’s how food loss and waste threaten the planet at every stage, from harvest to consumption

Where is the line between knowing and guessing?

Early mammals got ahead by eating insects

These simple sensors let a robot function by touch alone, allowing it to manipulate objects from a soup can to a rubber duck

Physicists finally understand why heating a supercold quantum fluid freezes it into a solid

A dazzling new map lights up the fruit fly brain

Explorers of space and the deep sea face similar dangers, but some differences make one realm safer than the other

Malaria grabs headlines, but U.S. residents are more likely to encounter West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses

Scientists have developed a new model to predict how much “gravity waves” could alter a star’s brightness

An expert on aging thinks humans could live to be 1,000 years old—with a few tweaks to our genetic “software”

Salads, sandwiches, pastas, and more for easy, breezy lunches and dinners.  ( 13 min )

This cork-lined box is an excellent, relatively inexpensive way to store knives in a drawer.  ( 11 min )

This is Jessica. A couple weeks ago I posted on the lack of standardization in how people design experiments to study judgment and decision making, especially in applied areas of research like visualization, human-centered AI, privacy and security, NLP, etc. … Continue reading →  ( 19 min )

I love this story so much I’m gonna tell it again: I remember the Watergate thing happening when I was a kid, and I asked my dad, “So, when did you realize that Nixon was a crook?” My dad replied, … Continue reading →  ( 22 min )

Rumor has it that there will be a special edition of Conversations with Tyler, to commemorate the pending 20th year anniversary of Marginal Revolution (yes, we have posted multiple times each day, without exception). We will be recording, of course, in Chennai.  So what should Jeff ask Alex and me?  If you don’t already know, […] The post What should Jeff Holmes ask Alex and me? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Justin Chang. Justin, without the blogfather, ... by ged What was the closest you ever came to going a day without ... by Jonathan Tout In reply to Who will trundle him in his wheelchair @100. ... by The real name sounds even useless In reply to Naveen K. Naveen K by Looking for your mother's cunt 1. I'm not an economist, but I get the sense that most ... by Robert A Gressis Plus 10 more... Related Stories David J. Deming now has a Substack  ( 4 min )

1. Is HHS the ugliest building in DC, or is it just fine?  Why was it once considered “too opulent”? 2. Solar energy fact of the day.  Should this make you less bullish about nuclear? 3. Edward Sexton, tailor to the Beatles, passes away RIP. 4. David Card on writing controversial papers. 5. Lord Monboddo […] The post Monday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Lord Action. You could do electrolysis. Split ... by Doug In reply to Lord Action. Desalinization plant. Very energy ... by Engineer “Joseph A. Califano Jr., HEW’s then-secretary, told a Post ... by Rioting mainly for fun and profit In reply to Data Scientist. Unfortunately no. Fresh baked ... by Hmm In reply to RAD. Lord Monboddo folklore. “He was said to ... by b Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Sam is still writing good papers: Since 1972 the General Social Survey (GSS) has asked a representative sample of US adults “… [are] you …very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?” Overall, the population is reasonably happy even after a mild recent decline. I focus on differences along standard socio demographic dimensions: age, race, […] The post Sam Peltzman on American happiness appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments My theory, or maybe it's a known theory by now, is that ... by Mike W In reply to Umm, there was little USA rahing going on in 1976. ... by community notes In reply to Umm, there was little USA rahing going on in 1976. ... by PHinton In reply to steve. Yes, almost like I explicitly said ... by Sure In reply to steve. I think each one of us has an internal set ... by Rahul Plus 10 more... Related Stories Suicide rates The Rise in American Pain David J. Deming now has a Substack  ( 5 min )

Food here is excellent, but eating well involves some counterintuitive advice. For one thing, there are few “undiscovered gems” along the roadways.  It is just not a thing here, and several Sri Lanka residents have confirmed this to me (one person suggested there used to be lots of them, but they have faded).  During my […] The post How to eat well in Sri Lanka appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to bazza. Well they did storm the palace and forced ... by EdR In reply to MMK. Taking inspiration from eco-tourism Pakistan ... by Rahul In reply to JWatts. I'm not quite sure what to do with the ... by dearieme In reply to Patrick. Sri Lanka has a legitimate tourism ... by MMK In reply to Umm, there was little USA rahing going on in 1976. ... by dearieme Plus 10 more... Related Stories Sri Lanka travel notes The Economics of Export Bans  ( 6 min )

Plus: Warrant unsealed in arrest of Adam Fravel; more wildfire smoke in northern Minnesota; Burnsville receives federal aid for Nicollet, Highway 13 intersection; and more.  ( 7 min )

University researchers aim to find out how encampment closings affect resident health.  ( 18 min )

The project, known as Fast, Reliable, Electronic, Unconscious, Detection, or FREUD, would use measurement of brain activity to detect early, subconscious signals of hesitation or pause over specific images that may signal the early stages of certain conditions.  ( 23 min )

By 1940, its picturesque North Shore setting had made it one of the most visited lighthouses in the United States.  ( 10 min )

Political party members will soon become a minority in American politics, most likely before the next presidential election.  ( 12 min )

The area where most Minnesotans might notice enforcement of still-illegal acts are on the highway. State troopers and police officers are still charged with preventing driving while impaired.  ( 27 min )

Plus: Minnesota Republicans call for special session on marijuana law; one dead, one injured in shooting in Minneapolis neighborhood; child found safe following AMBER Alert; and more.  ( 8 min )

Also micromanaged investment bankers and a chrome orb.  ( 2 min )

The English wife of a German aristocrat recounts, through a series of diary entries, a year spent revitalizing the neglected garden of their estate.  ( 2 min )

A young nobleman of obscure birth sacrifices his own interests to uphold the honor of his patrons’ family.  ( 2 min )

A young nobleman explores romance, feuding families, politics, and national identity during a period of social upheaval and Russian occupation.  ( 2 min )

R-Ladies Morelia is celebrating its first anniversary on the 31st of July 2023, and hosting a hybrid event to mark this occasion. In this event, they plan on providing the... Continue reading: R-Ladies Morelia, Mexico, hosts First Anniversary Event on July 31, 2023  ( 13 min )

R and Shiny Training: If you find this blog to be interesting, please note that I offer personalized and group-based training sessions that may be reserved through Buy me a Coffee. Additionally, I provide training services in the Spanish language ... Continue reading: One Weird Trick to Make Ggplot2 Columns the Same Width  ( 8 min )

If you have used ggplot2, you probably wondered how to make all columns the same width. We can also center the columns and make columns in the same category more sep... Continue reading: One Weird Trick to Make Ggplot2 Columns the Same Width  ( 7 min )

Introduction Continue reading: The replicate() function in R  ( 13 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Linear model and Transformations  ( 22 min )

Utagawa Yoshikazu, Early Foreign Photographer in Yokohama R-Ladies organizes a multitude of inspiring and exciting Meetups worldwide. However, due to work, time zones, or other commitments, I can’t attend them all. Fortunately, since the pand... Continue reading: Using flexdashboard to create a GitHub Actions-powered YouTube feed  ( 26 min )

The president of Aizu University in Japan has resigned after two investigations found he had self-plagiarized or double-submitted a dozen papers. Toshiaki Miyazaki was also found to have “filed an application for a project subsidized by the national government without going through the university official procedures,” which “caused confusion,” according to Aizu. He resigned effective … Continue reading President of Japanese university resigns after findings of ‘self-plagiarism’  ( 8 min )

Less than a year after he became dean of the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Dentistry, an uncomfortable email landed in Russell Taichman’s inbox. Overlapping and duplicated panels in one of Taichman’s 2005 papers were among a list of complaints relayed by the publisher of Cellular Signalling in the April 2020 correspondence – complaints … Continue reading Exclusive: How a dean went about about correcting the scientific record even when at least one journal said he didn’t need to  ( 11 min )

Commenting on yesterday's post "Semantic drift of the week", Nicholas wrote this about the pronunciation of different senses of the word battery: In Australia and many parts of the UK, the pronunciation between both is significantly different. "Batch-ry" holds the electrical charge. Batt-ery is the criminal charge. Pronouncing words like military, literally, and battery without […]  ( 11 min )

Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez created and self-published the black-and-white 68-page comics anthology Love and Rockets #1 in 1981, which Fantagraphics reprinted in 1982 with new colored front and back covers. Three more issues followed in 1983, including #2: Fantagraphics also published a three-part colored mini-series Mechanics in late 1985, reprinting Jaime Hernandez’s 6-part story “Mechanics” […]  ( 10 min )

Post-Roe, pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are expected to rise. Advocates say it’s important to gather maternal mortality data to understand the life-or-death consequences of the restrictions. But determining whether those deaths were due to an inability to obtain an abortion can be difficult.  ( 16 min )

“PhotoGuard,” developed by MIT CSAIL researchers, prevents unauthorized image manipulation, safeguarding authenticity in the era of advanced generative models.  ( 10 min )

Square-triangular numbers  ( 1 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

In reply to Jan. No worries; I value having people reading as closely as you!  ( 13 min )

In reply to Su, Tao. That's a good idea - it is easy to say given what the reader knows, and an important concept. Likely I'll add it in the next week. (And thank you for the kind words.)  ( 13 min )

In reply to Swan Klein. Thanks! I see what you mean, and it definitely could be. The one with times maps to the one with the otimes, which maps to the right side of that map in the notes. So we're both right. I want to write it like this so the two vector vector bundles (the two sides of the "\times") are most visible. (And thanks for your other suggestions and corrections you sent by email; I think I owe you a response, and if so, hope to get to it soon.)  ( 13 min )

In reply to Gabe O. Thanks, now fixed!  ( 13 min )

In reply to Gabe O. Thanks, now fixed! I'm now properly doing the index, which causes spacing errors like this when I'm not careful, and these are *really* hard to catch.  ( 13 min )

In reply to Gabe O. Another typo in Def. 10.7.7. ..., we say \rho: X^{red}\to X is "the" reduction of *X if*, missing a space between "X" and "if"  ( 13 min )

The Banff International Research Station will host the “Contextual Integrity for Differential Privacy” workshop at the UBC Okanagan campus in Kelowna, B.C., from July 30 to August 4, 2023. Privacy concerns are becoming a major obstacle to using data, and it is often unclear how current regulations should translate into technology. Over the last decade, […]  ( 7 min )

The Banff International Research Station will host the “Contextual Integrity for Differential Privacy” workshop at the UBC Okanagan campus in Kelowna, B.C., from July 30 to August 4, 2023. Privacy concerns are becoming a major obstacle to using data, and it is often unclear how current regulations should translate into technology. Over the last decade, […]  ( 7 min )

I started writing in a possible grant proposal (that would be in collaboration with others) about the trustworthiness of machine-learning emulators. Emulators are systems that learn the input–output relationship of a computationally expensive simulation and produce (or speed the computation of) new simulation outputs, reducing total computational requirements for a given number of simulations. These are so important now that the ESA and data-analysis plans crucially involve emulation.EuclidSimons Observatory The issue is: How do we trust that the emulators are giving good outputs? There is no obvious way to test them, except by comparing to held-out training data. But in large-scale structure contexts, no amount of held-out data can test the enormous input data space. I don't know how we will ever trust such systems (and damn do we need to!), but I have some ideas about how to improve the situation. One involves enforcing physics symmetries on the emulators. Another involves running adversarial attacks on them.  ( 14 min )

A reminder about this week's conference ACT 2023, and a few talks on network theory at this conference.  ( 2 min )

It’s not too late to register to join talks on Zoom at Applied Category Theory 2023. It starts on Monday July 31, 2023! But if you miss out, you can watch talks later on YouTube. Here’s where you can register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/applied-category-theory-2023-registration-643212404617 and here’s the program of talks: https://act2023.github.io/programme.html Besides talks there will also be tutorials: […]  ( 7 min )

How do we assign words to this invisible enemy? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Here are some easy ways to add more to your storytelling Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Travel makes you a better reader, especially for history, geography, (factual) economics, and political science. I have been reading two good books about Sri Lanka, namely K.M. de Silva’s Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE and also his A History of Sri Lanka.  Both would be very difficult to follow if I didn’t […] The post One simple reason why travel is important appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Grape Fruit. >One simple reason why travel is ... by Derek22 The most visited and venerated places in the world for the past ... by Martin Gray In reply to Excursive. It takes a certain poverty of soul to ... by Excursive In reply to skyzyks. She writes: “Travel prevents us from ... by Excursive In reply to Tom T.. I hope you didn't need to charge your ... by EdR Plus 10 more... Related Stories Sri Lanka travel notes The Amy Finkelstein and Liran Einav health care plan On-line, Chinese production of *The Three-Body Problem*  ( 5 min )

1. Questions that are rarely asked: “At the breakfast bar and wondering if having everybody touch the same pair of tongs in the same place is proven to be better than having everybody simply pick up their own piece of bread” 2. The importance of high school guidance counselors. 3. Is fish and chips disappearing?  […] The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Hazel Meade. This seems unlikely to me. Why ... by whut In reply to MikeP. >I don't know whether this is real Bill or ... by Derek22 #1 Absent extenuating circumstances (you know that you are ... by Phil S. Investing more in guidance counselors seems like low-hanging ... by Phil S. 1 &7 not surprised russia shot at ufos. russia once mistakenly ... by cornpopsrustyrazor Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Finally the truth is coming out.  A series of new research papers, surveyed in the NYT, present a pretty sobering reality.  Here is just one excerpt: One of the studies was titled “How do social media feed algorithms affect attitudes?” In that research, which included more than 23,000 Facebook users and 21,000 Instagram users, researchers replaced the […] The post The political impact of social media has been grossly overrated appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to JFA. I disagree. The results of such “bad SM” ... by blue jay One study leads Tyler to make sweeping declarations. Smells ... by The Original D In reply to Rahul. Did the authors bother to correlate social ... by The Original D On the one hand I'm just generally skeptical of a lot of social ... by Michael Stack In reply to Hmm. *not a primary cause by Oops Plus 10 more... Related Stories How to assign property rights in actor AI likenesses Fireside chat with Vitalik More on Singapore and public sector talent development  ( 5 min )

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one excerpt: The Boston Celtics just set an NBA record by agreeing to a five-year, $304 million contract with two-time All-Star Jaylen Brown. The obvious question is whether any single basketball player can be worth that much money — especially someone who is not even the best player on his […] The post The economics of NBA contracts appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to William of LA. This was the whole point of ... by Kaleberg In reply to dave. The joke you were looking for was “yeah, ... by anon/portly In reply to Rahul. Not sure if that's supposed to be a ... by aaron “Qatar owns five percent of the Washington Wizards” Is ... by Quantitative Sneezing In reply to Ameet. Yes, poor fact checking by TC and ... by Wait Plus 10 more... Related Stories Are “circuit breakers” overrated? More on the Merger Guidelines Scrap AMC/KYC Laws  ( 5 min )

Maybe so: Market-wide trading halts, also called circuit breakers, have been widely adopted as part of the stock market architecture, in the hope of stabilizing the market during dramatic price declines. We develop an intertemporal equilibrium model to examine how circuit breakers impact market behavior and welfare. We show that a circuit breaker tends to […] The post Are “circuit breakers” overrated? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to gardel. >but but but things could be worse!!!! ... by Okay On what evidence base were circuit breakers introduced? by dearieme The market becomes more volatile as the price approaches the ... by rayward In reply to Dismalist. We have the empirical reality of ... by Ricardo In reply to Phil S.. In today's markets what percent of ... by Rahul Plus 10 more... Related Stories More on the Merger Guidelines Scrap AMC/KYC Laws Why aren’t Barbie tickets more expensive?  ( 5 min )

Cover photo by inkoly ref. 1185114379 on iStock Continue reading: Quantum Entanglement  ( 22 min )

This is the third post in a series of posts about Nix. Disclaimer: I’m a super Continue reading: Reproducible data science with Nix, part 3 — frictionless {plumber} api deployments with Nix  ( 42 min )

....

GradientGenerator “Create advanced CSS gradients” WORDWARD DRAW An odd little word game. Decentralized vs. Federated 📌 “I often see the terms decentralized and federated used somewhat interchangeably. So I wanted to provide a simple explanation and example of the difference.” Snowflake ❄️ 📌 “...a system that allows people from all over the world to access censored websites and applications” overpass turbo 📌 “...a web-based data filtering tool for OpenStreetMap”  ( 1 min )

VitalSigns: macOS System Monitor [e2b] Note: This is not an endorsement.  ( 1 min )

Here it is! It’s from Aki. Aki linked to it last year in a post, “Moving cross-validation from a research idea to a routine step in Bayesian data analysis.” But I thought the FAQ deserved its own post. May it … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is primarily focused on astrophysical research studying various aspects of the universe, from the Sun to the development of the cosmos. All of this is at a historical campus that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.  The most historic building on the campus is the Humboldt-Haus house, which houses the second largest telescope in the country, just after the Großen Refraktor, on its roof. Several other telescopes and domes dot the area, including a large one that houses the institute library. The Spectrumweg is also a feature that can be found in this place.  ( 12 min )

A reminder about this week's conference ACT 2023, and a few talks on network theory at this conference.  ( 2 min )

All who testified before a congressional subcommittee claimed that UFOs pose a threat to national security, so why are the reports not made public?

It’s not too late to register to join talks on Zoom at Applied Category Theory 2023. It starts on Monday July 31, 2023! But if you miss out, you can watch talks later on YouTube. Here’s where you can register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/applied-category-theory-2023-registration-643212404617 and here’s the program of talks: https://act2023.github.io/programme.html Besides talks there will also be tutorials: […]  ( 7 min )

Government at all levels has limped into the digital age, offering online services that can feel even more cumbersome than the paperwork that preceded them … Government is hamstrung by a rigid, industrial-era culture, in which elites dictate policy from on high, disconnected from and too often disdainful of the details of implementation. Lofty goals morph unrecognizably as they cascade through a complex hierarchy. … Jennifer Pahlka shows why we must … consider what it would mean to truly recode American government. (

I am almost off to a BIRS workshop on differential privacy taking place on the Okanagan UBC campus rather than at the original BIRS place in Banff, three hours (drive) West, on the Okanagan Lake. When I saw the announcement for the workshop on the BIRS webpage, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to […]  ( 7 min )

I am almost off to a BIRS workshop on differential privacy taking place on the Okanagan UBC campus rather than at the original BIRS place in Banff, three hours (drive) West, on the Okanagan Lake. When I saw the announcement for the workshop on the BIRS webpage, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to […]  ( 7 min )

I’ve been getting a lot of use recently from the Posit (née Continue reading: Posit Package Manager for Linux R Binaries  ( 9 min )

Motivation I usually talk about statistical inference as having one of three purposes: estimating some finite and defined population parameter, like the mean income of mechanical apprentices in 1890s London or the number of 5-9 year olds living in... Continue reading: Log transforms, geometric means and estimating population totals by @ellis2013nz  ( 28 min )

I migrated my personal Mastodon account from mastodon.social to biologists.social recently. If you’d like to do the same, I found this guide very useful. Note that, once you move, all your previous posts are left behind on the old instance. Before I migrated, I downloaded all of ... Continue reading: Mr. Mastodon Farm: analysing a mastodon ActivityPub outbox.json file  ( 12 min )

Utagawa Yoshikazu, Early Foreign Photographer in Yokohama R-Ladies organizes a multitude of inspiring and exciting Meetups worldwide. However, due to work, time zones, or other commitments, I can’t attend them all. Fortunately, since the pand... Continue reading: Using flexdashboard to create a GitHub Actions-powered YouTube feed  ( 26 min )

Don’t freelance like Frogger.  ( 10 min )

Lessons from a Will Smith superhero joint Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

1. #lazygirljob (WSJ). 2. The economic foundations of Kenyan street protests.  And some interest groups are rebelling against Nigerian reforms. 3. Product liability for defective AI.  A law and economics study. 4. Diagnostic medical errors are a huge problem. 5. Lebanese man holds up bank to get his own money out (NYT). 6. More Okie-dokie […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Rick from Baltimore. I wouldn't advise anyone to ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to sxb. @Aladdin : decreased productivity doesn't ... by sxb In reply to Crusaders. It's all good til the mutational load ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Aladdin. In this case if AI follows the same ... by steve In reply to Pancho. And he will retain or delete any comment ... by This is Tyler's comment section, not yours Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Jason Furman and Carl Shapiro write about the merger guidelines. On the thrust of the guideline as political rather than summarzing existing law they are very much in agreement with the Hurwicz and Manne piece that I summarized last week. Merger guidelines aren’t enforceable regulations. They have also never attempted to be a legal brief or […] The post More on the Merger Guidelines appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Bill. Dan, Your reference to Baker Hughes ... by Bill In reply to blue jay. “Having been run out of India and ... by Naveen K In reply to Ernst. C'mon, man–the Sherman Act was ... by (Not That) Bill O'Reilly In reply to blue jay. That’s essentially an argument for ... by DJ In reply to blue jay. Not true. The earlier guidelines were ... by Bill Plus 10 more... Related Stories Scrap AMC/KYC Laws The Merger Guidelines The Economics of Export Bans  ( 5 min )

Have you ever been to a perfect spot and wished “there should be an amazing hotel right there, except I want the hotel without any accompanying crowding or corruptions of tourism?” If that is your desire, Sri Lanka is the country for you.  (Who cares if that is an apparent violation of the laws of […] The post Sri Lanka travel notes appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Rahul. Can't say I haven't thought about it ... by Naveen K In reply to community notes. You really needed to double up ... by God of Thunder In reply to Snowboobs. fake boobs @ 14:08:20 by community notes In reply to Rahul. Nikita Sokolsky's comment in this thread ... by M In reply to “How good is Buddhism for economic growth ... by Snowboobs Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with the excellent Noam Dworman The Economics of Export Bans SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited  ( 7 min )

A month ago Coleman Hughes, a young writer whose name I recognized from his many thoughtful essays in Quillette and elsewhere, set up a virtual “AI safety roundtable” with Eliezer Yudkowsky, Gary Marcus, and, err, yours truly, for his Conversations with Coleman podcast series. Maybe Coleman was looking for three people with the most widely […]  ( 60 min )

A month ago Coleman Hughes, a young writer whose name I recognized from his many thoughtful essays in Quillette and elsewhere, set up a virtual “AI safety roundtable” with Eliezer Yudkowsky, Gary Marcus, and, err, yours truly, for his Conversations with Coleman podcast series. Maybe Coleman was looking for three people with the most widely […]  ( 60 min )

…or maybe we should call it a "semantic jump"? It's a pun that illustrates how word meanings can evolve along sensible paths that become obscure as time passes and culture changes. Which is one of the reasons that the reconstruction of linguistic history gets harder as time depth increases. Here's the upper scene in the […]  ( 13 min )

Dale Lehman writes: Let me be the first (or not) to ask you to blog about this just released NEJM study. Here are the study, supplementary appendix, and data sharing statement, and I’ve also included the editorial statement. The study … Continue reading →  ( 19 min )

The attentive and endearing doggy head tilt might indicate your pup is trying to process what you’re saying

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to nearly 350. There are now 41,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in Edifix, EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains 200 titles. And have you seen … Continue reading Weekend reads: The black market for papers; the secret life of retractions; a ‘troublesome pattern’  ( 8 min )

For much of the past week, I’ve been attending off and on (on Zoom) the Strings 2023 conference. This year it’s in a hybrid format, with 200 participants in person at the Perimeter Institute, and another 1200 or so on … Continue reading →  ( 8 min )

We have just arXived our paper on insufficient Gibbs sampling with Antoine Luciano and Robin Ryder, from Université Paris Dauphine. This is Antoine’s first paper and part of his PhD. (In particular, he wrote the entire code.) The idea stemmed from a discussion on ABC benchmarks, like the one when the pair (median, MAD) is […]  ( 7 min )

We have just arXived our paper on insufficient Gibbs sampling with Antoine Luciano and Robin Ryder, from Université Paris Dauphine. This is Antoine’s first paper and part of his PhD. (In particular, he wrote the entire code.) The idea stemmed from a discussion on ABC benchmarks, like the one when the pair (median, MAD) is […]  ( 7 min )

Gastro Obscura’s Summer Cookout columnist Paula Marcoux is a food historian and the author of Cooking With Fire. Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing recipes and stories from the luminous history of open-fire cooking. Deep in the mid-winter Maine woods in 1902, a young chemist persuaded six lumberjacks to be his lab rats. For one 18-meal work-week, he cataloged every scrap of food the men were about to eat, then he collected all the relevant feces, sealing them in “museum jars” and freezing them in a snowbank cache. With the cooperation of the camp cook, he also assembled and froze samples of every type of food served to the men. He then transported all these icy jars to the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Maine at Orono for analysis. The research was par…  ( 28 min )

When the minerals of a mining town have been fully extracted, there is a chance that it will become a ghost town. That is what happened to Real de Catorce in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí when its silver ran dry in the early 20th century. But it was never completely abandoned.  The land around the town, particularly the desert below, is known as Wirikuta, the sacred land of the Huichol people. Real de Catorce has long been a pilgrimage site for them due to its proximity to Wirikuta. It's also a place of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics. The Parish of Immaculate Conception Cathedral draws visitors hoping to ask a favor from Saint Frances Assisi. Today, the town sees pilgrims of a different sort, namely tourists in search of the magic that keeps visitors coming to this out-of-the-way location. When silver mining ended over a century ago, the town's population dropped down to the hundreds. Today the town has around a thousand permanent residents. The sizable tourist flow keeps its small hotels busy.  Much of the town is abandoned. Be sure to visit the historic bullfighting ring and its amphitheater. A hike up to the hills will give you a panoramic view of the town and its surroundings. Throughout the town, the Huichol sell their intricate, colorful artwork.  ( 13 min )

In May 1974, a 27-year-old director named Steven Spielberg set out to make a movie about a shark, based on a hit novel that had come out just months earlier, also about a shark. In August 2023, a new Broadway play is opening at the Golden Theater on West 45th Street in New York, The Shark Is Broken, about the trials, tribulations, and humor of the making of the movie—Jaws, obviously—that changed the film industry. The play dramatizes the bickering between three stars of the film—Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, and Robert Shaw, whose son Ian co-wrote and stars in the play—and the difficulties of having a giant, animatronic shark as a scene partner. Back in 1974, it wasn’t just the fake shark that presented challenges—the production was menaced by real live sharks before the real filming e…  ( 20 min )

Asbestos Cottage was built in 1897 by prospectors coming to Kahurangi National Park to search for asbestos. What we now know to be a carcinogenic mineral, asbestos was widely used for over a century to provide a fireproof barrier and insulation to buildings. One miner in particular, Henry Chaffey, lived in this isolated hut for over 40 years with his wife Annie Fox. Visitors today will be struck by the isolation of the building, tucked between mountains and forests. One can only imagine how lonesome it would have been a hundred years ago. However, Annie was always glad to greet visitors in her impressive Edwardian-style clothing. Chaffey would make visits to Motueka and Takaka by foot for provisions and to sell what he was able to mine in order to support himself and his wife. This trek would have taken him days to complete.  ( 12 min )

When you drive north toward Ordos City in China’s Inner Mongolia province, you can’t miss the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan. The massive complex, rebuilt in the 1950s in the traditional Mongol style, houses genuine relics and is an important sanctuary for the shamanic worship of the legendary Mongol leader. But the Khan’s tomb is properly called a cenotaph—a monument to someone buried elsewhere—because it is empty. An Unmarked Grave for the Universal Ruler While we can be certain his mortal remains are not there, we’re completely uncertain as to where they might be. And that’s odd. In life, he was the most powerful person on Earth. He was the Universal Ruler (“Genghis Khan”) of an empire that would eventually stretch from the Pacific Ocean into Eastern Europe, encompassing large swaths of …  ( 23 min )

Just off the bustling Magazine Street in the Irish Channel, the National Shrine of Blessed Father Xavier Seelos welcomes visitors to learn of the mystical life of the “Cheerful Ascetic.” The Redemptorist order established the site to promote the canonization cause of Seelos. Born Francis Xavier Seelos in Bavaria, Germany in 1819, he eventually pursued a religious life and was ordained by the Redemptorist order in 1842. Seelos traveled to the United States, first residing in New York to minister to German-speaking immigrants. During his lifetime, Seelos witnessed the chaos of the American Civil War. Father Seelos urged President Lincoln to excuse seminarians from military service during the conflict. He transferred to New Orleans in 1866 where his life ended from yellow fever a year later at the age of 48. An in-depth account of his life is portrayed at the center, which includes a wide range of artifacts including his original lead coffin. His cilice and flagellum are on display in the Walk of Life section of the campus. Hours and days of operation vary and large groups are encouraged to make arrangements in advance.  ( 13 min )

August 2023 promises to be a big month for the Moon. On August 1 and August 30 (Eastern Time), the orb will be near its perigee—its closest point to Earth—and the full moon will loom large in the night sky, a phenomenon brilliantly branded as the "supermoon." The full moon on August 2 is the Sturgeon Moon, a name drawn from the belief that the best fishing occurs under its glow, and the one on August 30 is a Blue Moon, the relatively rare second appearance of a full moon in a single month. But even when the moon isn't at its (seemingly) biggest and brightest, humans have been entranced by it as a celestial body. From the Atlas Obscura archive, explore centuries of attempts to map, explore, own, and even spend eternity on Earth's only natural satellite. During the Space Race, Gas Stat…  ( 17 min )

A new AI technology predicts hit songs — by listening to someone's body.

By inhibiting part of rats’ brain stem, scientists may have found the play center of the brain

An alarming study predicts an imminent collapse of a mega ocean current, but some experts say the evidence is insufficient

New measurements from Japan’s Subaru telescope have helped researchers study the matter-antimatter asymmetry problem

Multitasking can occupy attention longer than people anticipate

The “magnitude scale” for measuring stellar brightness also reveals the limits of naked-eye stargazing

The founder of a Japanese media company has offered a large cash prize to anyone who can find a flaw in an unusual proof

As AI-generated content fills the Internet, it’s corrupting the training data for models to come. What happens when AI eats itself?

Cover photo by gorodenkoff on iStock Continue reading: Grover’s algorithm with qsimulatR  ( 25 min )

Cover photo by NatalyaBurova ref. 1308269282 on iStock Continue reading: Quantum programs  ( 13 min )

Introduction Continue reading: The intersect() function in R  ( 10 min )

Here are the bizarre steps you might be missing Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Share that trivial insight! Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Olivia Hawker’s conviction versus convention Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

No, reported suicide rates are not rising everywhere – they are falling in many countries, but rising in the US. And no, there is no big rise in teenage suicide rates in the US, the increase is concentrated in people over 19. This makes global social media an unlikely cause. pic.twitter.com/K1COBitWMj — Dina D. Pomeranz […] The post Suicide rates appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to rsm. I think you're horribly depressed and I am ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Yeppers. Drug use is self-medication for ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to rsm. You may be onto something there. But instead ... by NepoPoleon In reply to Ne'er Do Well. Why didn't Epstein kill himself, ... by rsm In reply to Ernst. How about we stop censoring suicide posts ... by rsm Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Rise in American Pain David J. Deming now has a Substack Is the rising youth suicide rate overstated?  ( 4 min )

1. Haidt and Gray on play deprivation as a cause of mental illness. 2. Some kind of weird story I don’t understand about an AER retraction. 3. “The SAT’s Predictive Power for College Grades is Systematically Underestimated Because of Range Restriction.” 4. Noteworthy observations on China and AI. 5. Markets in AI girlfriends. 6. “A […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to RAD. When I walked to high school I could take a ... by mkt42 In reply to MikeP. But why would the media and academia want ... by Reason In reply to RAD. Nah, Uncle Screwtape usually couched his ... by peri In reply to Student. We need much much more of scientists ... by MikeP In reply to TomWinTejas. With a zero tolerance policy, the ... by Viking Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Bruce Fenton writing on twitter  X: It’s time to scrap AML / KYC entirely. The idea that politicians should know how citizens spend their money is a new and deeply flawed idea. An entire generation has been fooled into thinking this is a necessary part of finance and the world continues to double down on […] The post Scrap AML/KYC Laws appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments What in God's good name does AML stand for? Anybody? Bueller? ... by rsm I'd be interested in a good analysis that that ... by Worley Are they sure it's not costing us $30T a year? That $300B ... by Kaleberg Can't those $3 billion a year in illicit funds in the wrong ... by Phil G In reply to Not really clear. Given what you replied to, it ... by TMC Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Merger Guidelines Why aren’t Barbie tickets more expensive? The Economics of Export Bans  ( 6 min )

That is the theme of my latest Bloomberg column, as for mamny showings there is excess demand and long waits to see the movies.  Here are some of the reasons why markets are not clearing: A more relevant factor behind the static pricing has to do with social networks. Both the movie theater and the […] The post Why aren’t Barbie tickets more expensive? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Years ago I remember reading about someone floating the idea in ... by Worley In reply to Crusader. My first job in the mid 90's was at a ... by Sean In reply to Hazel Meade. “One question I have though is, ... by Bernard Guerrero In reply to JFA. Potentially, there are multiple demand and ... by mkt42 In reply to Charlie. Do you also want children to get off ... by superdestroyer Plus 10 more... Related Stories Scrap AMC/KYC Laws The Merger Guidelines The Economics of Export Bans  ( 5 min )

Tanner Greer and The Center for Strategic Translation, to fund translation into English of important Chinese works, so that Westerners may understand China better. Nabeel Qureshi, New York City, to support his next project. Matthew Adelson, Ann Arbor, for the study of utilitarianism and to become a public intellectual, Kris Gulati, UC Merced, CA and […] The post Emergent Ventures winners, 27th cohort appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Bentham's Bulldog. Cowen identified you as ... by rayward In reply to rayward. First of all, my name is Adelstein not ... by Bentham's Bulldog I realize these grants have only been active for a fairly short ... by steve In reply to Paul. Greer’s writing on Afghan cultural – ... by Etalon d’Silomar In reply to Tyler may not be a billionaire patron. This is ... by Rich Berger Plus 7 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with the excellent Noam Dworman The Economics of Export Bans David J. Deming now has a Substack  ( 5 min )

Yes. The Minnesota Department of Human Services has posted a job for the position of "Call Center Navigator" for the Uniting for Ukraine program.  ( 6 min )

Plus: Criminal charges dropped against Stillwater bar in death of 20-year-old; students can opt out of active shooting drills; former Moorhead professor reflects on time working on Manhattan Project; and more.  ( 7 min )

No. Solar energy accounted for 3.4% of the state’s electricity production in 2022, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.  ( 6 min )

Plus: Another possible shutdown, lawmakers want feds to protect workers from record heat and Biden chooses Latino for federal bench in Minnesota.  ( 21 min )

If any Minneapolis streets should allow cyclists to “take the lane” and calm traffic, 20-mph recreational parkways running through the nation’s leading park system are the place.  ( 21 min )

Did we not learn anything from Donald Trump's four years as president?  ( 14 min )

A Wisconsin district could owe hours of instruction to a transgender student after reducing their class schedule to three days a week to prevent further harassment, according to a recent federal civil rights resolution.  ( 13 min )

Today, we're spotlighting one of our featured panels sessions, Black Entrepreneurship in Minnesota, sponsored by Clockwork.  ( 12 min )

Plus: St. Paul mayor vetoes tax levy ballot measure; thousands of sexual assault kits tested; P.J. Fleck calls allegations 'baseless'; and more.  ( 10 min )

Finalist #11 in the Book Review Contest

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The language family began to diverge from around 8,100 years ago, out of a homeland immediately south of the Caucasus. One migration reached the Pontic-Caspian and Forest Steppe around 7,000 years ago, and from there subsequent migrations spread into parts of Europe around 5,000 years ago. Credit: P. Heggarty et al., Science (2023) "New Insights into the […]  ( 11 min )

There's a puzzling new proposal for watermarking AI-generated text — Alistair Croll, "To Watermark AI, It Needs Its Own Alphabet", Wired 7/27/2023: We need a way to distinguish things made by humans from things made by algorithms, and we need it very soon. […] Fortunately, we have a solution waiting in plain sight. […] If […]  ( 11 min )

People, including serious linguists, are beginning to wonder: John McWhorter, "Are translation apps making the learning of foreign languages obsolete?", NYT 7/25/2023 I remember a time, not too long ago, when John was making a serious effort to learn Mandarin, because he often asked me cogent questions about the language and wanted to know the […]  ( 11 min )

Last week, I said that the current best estimate for the age of the universe, 13.8 billion years old, is based on a mathematical model. In order to get that number, astronomers had to assume the universe evolved in a particular way, according to a model where the universe is composed of ordinary matter, dark […]  ( 12 min )

This week, condensed matter physics has been getting far more broad public attention than usual, and while in the abstract I like our discipline getting noticed, this is definitely not how I’d have preferred it to happen. First, more fun re .  Fresh off renewed controversy about claims of room temperature superconductivity in Lu-N-H at high pressures (claims of reproduction of the effect seem to me), it’s come out that , already under an “expression of concern”, is being retracted.  This has been widely reported - see  (hurray for student journalism) and and  for example.  It is abundantly clear that data fabrication/copying has taken place here.  Between this, the other retraction, and the clear evidence of thesis content plagiarism, it’s hard to see any signs of credibility remaining.…  ( 12 min )

The 1980s were a transformative decade for Hollywood that shifted away from the gritty, auteur-driven style of the New Hollywood Wave and witnessed the alarming emergence of mega blockbusters, feel-good teen comedies, and multi-billion-dollar franchises that completely took over the box office. However, the thriller genre stayed relevant throughout the Eighties, producing a chock-full of […]  ( 10 min )

Pristine raw scallops, done up Italian-style with little more than olive oil, salt, and a few drops of lemon juice is as easy as can be—as long as you invest in the very best scallops.  ( 13 min )

Wren’s Stables ‘Gaming and geekery’ plus this extensive collection of model horses - what fun!  ( 1 min )

Textual Paint (requires Python) [angusf]  ( 1 min )

James Traina writes: I’m an economist at the SF Fed. I’m writing to ask for your first thoughts or suggested references on a particular problem that’s pervasive in my field: Aggregation of micro effects into macro effects. This is an … Continue reading →  ( 21 min )

Nothing on this page is factually controversial. However, many things in this post make for uncomfortable reading. And, climate discourse is now so politicized that many factual statements are taken as dog whistles. For example, in what follows I will state that climate has always been changing, and has in fact never been stable for very long. This is 100% true, but people interpret this as if the writer means that our current climate change is not caused by human beings, or is nothing to worry about.  ( 20 min )

In “Kings of Their Own Ocean,” Karen Pinchin explores how politicized science misunderstood the world’s most valuable fish. Her account isn’t just an ode to bluefin — it’s about humankind’s obsession with them, and the scientists, activists, fishermen, and bureaucrats whose efforts determine their fate.  ( 13 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

The recordings from this year’s SatRdays London conference are here! Over the next couple of weeks, we will be releasing the recordings of some of the excellent talks from the conference! Continue reading: SatRdays London 2023 – Recordings  ( 8 min )

Cover photo by berya113 ref. 1126414116 on iStock Continue reading: Quantum computing with qsimulatR  ( 31 min )

This is a guest post by Joseph Korszun, Senior Manager of Data Solutions at ProCogia. ProCogia is a member of the R Consortium. Joe is a data scientist with a... Continue reading: A Memorable Experience: Attending the NYC-R Conference and Key Takeaways  ( 16 min )

We follow the steps from Welcome to Text Mining with R to import text and reshape it into a format where can can apply what we know from the Tidyverse to analyze word and document frequency. Continue reading: Text Analysis in R – Exploring Barbie and Oppenheimer Reviews – Part 1  ( 7 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Unleashing the Power of Cumulative Mean in R: A Step-by-Step Guide  ( 11 min )

Motivation Description Continue reading: Canadian Hansard Live Database  ( 9 min )

When I’ve created data visualisations with {ggplot2} recently, I’ve been adding icons with my social media details in the caption. It’s a great, concise way to put your name on your work, and make it easy for people to find your profi... Continue reading: Adding social media icons to charts with {ggplot2}  ( 13 min )

Probabilistic numerics: Computation as machine learning is a 2022 book by Philipp Henning, Michael Osborne, and Hans Kersting that was sent to me by CUP (upon my request and almost free of charge, as I had to pay custom charges, thanks to Brexit!). With the important message of bringing statistical tools to numerics. I remember […]  ( 9 min )

Probabilistic numerics: Computation as machine learning is a 2022 book by Philipp Henning, Michael Osborne, and Hans Kersting that was sent to me by CUP (upon my request and almost free of charge, as I had to pay custom charges, thanks to Brexit!). With the important message of bringing statistical tools to numerics. I remember […]  ( 9 min )

All week I have been discussing with Hans-Walter Rix (MPIA) the possibility that we could find the elusive, truly zero metallicity stars in the Milky Way halo. This from an email I wrote today, reacting to the observational point that no-one has ever seen such a star: How could there be absolutely ZERO zero-metallicity stars in the Milky Way? Here's everything I got: Maybe there are literally no low-mass stars ever made at zero metallicity. Absolutely none, at high precision. This is possible, given how little we know about star formation and the IMF. Maybe stellar evolution is so weird at zero metallicity that low-mass stars go dark by 13 Gyr. I very much doubt that this is a possibility. But maybe low-mass stars at primordial abundances never burn and just slowly collapse into white-dwarf-like condensed objects on a very long cooling timescale. They would be super cold by now, like 100 K maybe?? Maybe low-mass stars form slower than high-mass stars in star-forming regions at zero metallicity. This permits a few of the high-mass stars to quickly evolve and explode, polluting the outsides of the just-forming low-mass stars. These low-mass stars would then have low but non-zero surface metallicities, and be very alpha-enhanced. This is possible, although would it really leave NO zero-metallicity low-mass stars behind? Maybe low-mass stars somehow self-pollute at formation (or later in their lives). Maybe the nuclear fusion kicks in slightly before gravitational steady-state or radiative zones are set up, and the first bit of nuclear burning gets mixed in to the stellar envelopes? These stars would appear to have non-zero (but weird, carbon-enhanced maybe?) abundances. Or maybe this happens later in life because of some weird internal mixing. I have literally no idea whether any of this is possible.  ( 14 min )

In my last post, I asked " why Democratic elites haven't made more effort to appeal to moderate voters on the issue [of abortion]"? I should have said something like "why Democratic elites haven't made more effort to appeal to moderate voters by adopting more moderate positions"?  As I suggested in a post a few years ago, another way to appeal to moderate voters is by focusing on the negative--fears of what the extremists on the other side might do.  That's what the Democrats have done, and it's worked pretty well because many prominent Republicans have taken extreme positions.  Also, there is an asymmetry on the abortion issue--it's easier to find shocking examples of women who were denied abortions that most people will agree should have been allowed (e. g., the case that came up shortly after the Dobbs decision, a 10-year-old rape victim who had to travel out of Ohio to get an abortion) than shocking examples of women who had abortions that most people agree shouldn't have been allowed.  So if it comes down to a contest of extreme positions, the side favoring legal abortion is likely to win.  ( 8 min )

Back in 2020, leading academics and researchers at the company now known as Meta put together a large project to study social media and the 2020 US elections — particularly the roles of Instagram and Facebook. As Sinan Aral and … Continue reading →  ( 13 min )

Art Owen writes: It is my turn to teach our sampling course again. Last time I did that, the highlight was that students could design and conduct their own online survey using Google consumer surveys. Today I learned that Google … Continue reading →  ( 13 min )

The filmmaker and I get personal about THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN, and TICKET TO PARADISE Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

6 reasons to ignore the common advice: write what you know Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

A significant literature has documented trend increases in pain among Americans over the last two or three decades. There is no single explanation seeming to work well for the increase. We show that, rather than resulting from a smooth upward trend, the increase was almost entirely concentrated in the 2007-2010 period, the time of the […] The post The Rise in American Pain appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Doesn't that (nearly) coincide with the promotion of OxyContin ... by Pyrmonter In reply to TWBC. What planet are you on where you think ... by Anti-Gnostic Capitalism is painful, amirite? by rsm In reply to No Longer In Pain Programmer. Campbell introduced ... by steve In reply to EdR. Who says morbid obesity is healthy. Have ... by steve Plus 10 more... Related Stories David J. Deming now has a Substack Is the rising youth suicide rate overstated? The Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges  ( 5 min )

1. Hawaii is going to build more homes. 2. When did people stop being drunk all the time? 3. “Tom Sowell himself designs the cover jacket of just about every one of his books (and often uses just 3 colors: black, white, and red)”  Link here.  With a photo. 4. Over the last year, Japan’s […] The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments if you need to see the dean o' diversity psychobabble in ... by sisterogersintersectionalneighborhoodfilmreviews In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 17:35:17 Fake Bill should ... by Bill In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 17:26:22 by Bill 2 #believewomen a nekked woman walking in the middle of a bay ... by snowboobs ever thing is free now we figured it out when the wap in ... by Dr. jose bitin biden junios-alsatian, ph.d Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Gus Hurwitz (a former student) and Geoffrey Manne have an excellent piece in the WSJ discussing the FTCs new merger guidelines. First, what are these guidelines? Since 1968, Justice and the FTC have issued guidelines to help companies understand when a proposed merger might raise antitrust concerns. The guidelines are a nonbinding public statement that […] The post The Merger Guidelines appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to TMC. Except the law is hopelessly vague. You can ... by Zach In reply to cthulhu. The date doesn't matter. Marbury v. ... by Zach In reply to Heedless. Who ever heard of Airbus anyways? by Definitely sticked the landing The FTC hasn't accomplished much of anything since the early ... by Ricky Revised my prior to be much more favorable to Khan and FTC ... by Steve Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Economics of Export Bans German deindustrialization crisis of the day The EJMR doxxing issue  ( 5 min )

I am very pleased to have recorded a CWT with Noam Dworman, mostly about comedy but also music and NYC as well.  Noam owns and runs The Comedy Cellar, NYC’s leading comedy club, and he knows most of the major comedians.  Here is the audio, video, and transcript.  Here is the episode summary: Tyler sat […] The post My Conversation with the excellent Noam Dworman appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Ricardo. So true. After all there aren't enough ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to rayward. I thought we were still pretending Biden ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to Anti-Gnostic. Dead & Co, the 2nd version of The ... by Engineer In reply to Ricardo. Pryor got it from Cosby. by Casey In reply to Moral Panic. A lot of comics have always ... by Casey Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart Sinead O’Connor, RIP The Economics of Export Bans  ( 6 min )

Sinead O’Connor was a great singer–never more evident than in her collection of standards, Am I Not Your Girl? The entire album is wonderful. So sad to hear of her passing. Here on the painful decline of a marriage, Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home. Kills me every time I hear it. From […] The post Sinead O’Connor, RIP appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Karl Pooper. “… one of her (many) marriages ... by EdR In reply to Morris Applebaum IV. The least details emerge ... by Ricardo In reply to Ted Craig. “She made bizarre display in an ... by EdR In reply to Not even the half of it. “Her knowledge of the ... by EdR In reply to OK, bear with me here. Kinda like how Catholics ... by Keith Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart How to assign property rights in actor AI likenesses Victory City  ( 5 min )

At Indigenous Eats, owner Jenny Slagle and her husband, Andrew, serve Native American dishes prepared using family recipes. Offerings range from Indian tacos to desserts drenched in huckleberry sauce, and ingredients are sourced exclusively from locally owned Native American businesses. Fry bread, which appears here in both sweet and savory forms, is made according to a recipe from the owner’s mother.  Slagle, a member of the Yakama Nation and descendant of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, always dreamed of running a restaurant for Native American comfort food. For years, she ran an Indian taco stand with her four children and mother at Spokane’s annual Falls Pow Wow. Finally, an inspiring visit to Denver’s Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery, reassured her there was an appetite for such dishes. In 2022, Indigenous Eats was born. Around the restaurant’s deli-style order counter, walls are adorned with local Indigenous art and traditional melodies resound from the speakers. Exhibits and posters paint a picture of the vibrant Spokane’s Indigenous ancestry, where over 300 tribes in the county have created lively community spaces. Slagle and her family recipes have proven that even a fast food restaurant can be a powerful medium for preserving heritage and celebrating Native American culture.  ( 13 min )

For the last 20 years, this family-owned haven for hearty Polish fare has been gracing downtown Glendale with hunter's stew, pierogis, kielbasa, goulash, cabbage rolls, and so much more. (“A Touch of European” might be more aptly named “A Bear Hug from Poland”). Portions are generous, but save room for dessert, which includes house-baked cookies such as angel wings and kolaczki. Chef-owner Waldemar Okula is fiercely proud of his homeland—a fact readily apparent to anyone who's gone on one of his annual culinary tours of Poland. Twice a year, he hosts a cooking class where participants either learn how to make Easter classics like white borscht or a Polish-style Christmas feast. It's BYOB, it's cash only, and it's unlike anything else you'll find in the greater metro Phoenix area. You'll hear the owners speaking Polish amongst themselves and to other diners who've immigrated from the region. If the specials include a dill pickle soup, order a cup. Do not doubt its power.  ( 13 min )

When Mary Coyle moved to Phoenix from Ohio in 1951, she brought a knack for making ice cream with her from the midwest. Her namesake parlor, Mary Coyle Ol' Fashion Ice Cream, continues to survive and thrive in a smaller, nearby location, 72 years later. At 16% butterfat, the ice cream itself is ultra-rich and is still made on-site to this day using the original recipes that first made Mary a success. Not only are the options premium, but they're also expansive. The variety of flavors—an unexpected feature for a classic ice cream parlor—is a thrill in and of itself. Choose from a wide range of popular and nostalgic flavors, from black raspberry to black licorice, spumoni to burgundy cherry. Carefully sourced ingredients, such as the nuts in the butter pecan and maple walnut flavors sourced from Mount Hope, in Sedona, make each scoop shine. The new location's checkerboard floors, neon soda fountain sign, and pink-striped walls (which harken back to the original location) let you know you're in for a deliciously sweet time travel session.  ( 13 min )

The year was 1974, and Takeo Sakata was holding a dinner party. “Conversation centered around the spaghetti squash,” a guest later recalled, “and the struggle Mr. Sakata had had in introducing it to the West.” That night, Sakata was looking back on a distinguished six decades at the head of Japan’s top seed company. He had founded Sakata Seed Corporation in 1913, growing it from a small purveyor of lily bulbs into a major multinational developer of flower, fruit, and vegetable varieties. Today, the spaghetti squash can be counted among Sakata’s many successes; but it was far from an overnight one. Since the 1930s, Sakata had been the exclusive marketer of spaghetti squash in the United States. According to Dr. Harry Paris of Israel’s Volcani Institute Agricultural Research Organization…  ( 24 min )

The commune and spa town of Bagnères-de-Luchon is situated in the picturesque valleys and hills of southwestern France. Nestled close to the Spanish border, the town sits among the foothills of the French Pyrenees and is renowned for its thermal springs. For centuries, especially in the Victorian period, attracted people in poor health looking to convalesce in a scenic setting. One can easily imagine bourgeois visitors coming to Luchon to bask in therapeutic waters, perhaps as they cough discretely into a bloodstained lace handkerchief. Today, Luchon's tourists enjoy the benefits of the waters sans illnesses. Modern upgrades to the Thermes buildings demonstrate that Luchon's restorative springs remain as popular as ever with visitors. The local architecture is a curious mix of Belle Epoque grandeur and Tyrolean ski resort, unsurprising, given that the town also caters to skiers and snowboarders who venture into the snow-capped mountains every winter. The town remains a beautiful spot to enjoy a coffee at a boulevard cafe while admiring the majestic mountain range that dominates the town's skyline. These breathtaking peaks also captivated the writer, poet, and playwright Edmond Rostand who spent many summers enjoying the unique pleasures of Luchon while residing at Villa Julia, a holiday home built by the Rostand family. Here, Edmond composed love letters and wrote his most famous literary work, Cyrano De Bergerac.    A commemorative bust was erected in 1922, four years after Rostand's death at the age of 50. The statue features his curly mustache and an unmistakable creative air as the statue looks wistfully into the middle distance seeking inspiration. Appropriately the bust sits where his effigy can view the mountains, the river Pique, and Villa Julia.   It's a discrete but fitting tribute to a man known as France's National Poet who gave the world one of its most famous literary characters and who found vast reserves of inspiration in the splendor of the Pyrenees and the charming spa town of Luchon.  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit a family farm in Vermont that relies on itsy bitsy, eight-legged helpers to produce one-of-a-kind art pieces. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

Women in the U.S., India and Nigeria are losing money, economic opportunities and their health as temperatures rise

Researchers say they have discovered a new room-temperature ambient-pressure superconductor, but many scientists are unconvinced

An international team of scientists says nematodes found in Siberian permafrost are 46,000 years old and survived using techniques similar to those of a modern lab favorite

Floy Agnes Lee came to Los Alamos in 1945 knowing nothing of the top secret work on the atomic bomb happening all around her—but she studied the blood of the researchers who did.

From Phoenix, Ariz., to China to Spain, heat records are being set all over the world

Preliminary analyses show that this July is virtually certain to be the hottest month on record for the planet by a wide margin, largely because of global warming

The U.S. ignored Oppenheimer’s warnings about nuclear weapons and rushed to build and deploy a dangerous technology. We must not make the same mistake with AI

Limited data on adults age 60 and older raise questions on whether high-priced weight-loss drugs will really help with lowering rates of chronic illness and disability

Experts weigh in on the most shocking, paradigm-shifting and delightful findings in the history of physics

Scientists are gearing up for a high-stakes finale to OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to snare a sample from an asteroid

Plus: Osterholm on long COVID; serving up Minnesota sushi; Minnesota representation at first Asian New York Fashion Week; and more.  ( 7 min )

Reporter Walker Orenstein and freelance contributor Pat Borzi were also honored for reporting in politics and government and sports, respectively.  ( 9 min )

Her Freedom to Vote Act includes mandating at least two weeks of in-person early voting, establishing a national standard for mail-in voting and establishing new, uniform rules for congressional redistricting aimed at ending partisan gerrymandering.  ( 16 min )

Supporting the Women’s World Club is an investment in gender equality and progress.  ( 14 min )

Though Minneapolis crime data suggests burglaries and other property crimes are down compared to this time last year, the city has seen a recent increase in thefts from garages.  ( 11 min )

MinnPost reporter Ava Kian talks about her race & health equity beat and its impact with managing editor Harry Colbert Jr.  ( 5 min )

Plus: Palmfest brings music to the West Bank; Kashmina releases new album; new performance art installation explores the synchronized flight of birds; and more.  ( 12 min )

Plus: Former Gophers detail alleged toxic conditions under Fleck; Iron workers strike in Mankato; shooting injures two children in Minneapolis; and more.  ( 6 min )

Science has rescinded an expression of concern it issued one month ago after the authors provided data that “addressed concerns about the integrity of the paper.”  The journal had published the expression of concern for the 2021 article “Light-induced mobile factors from shoots regulate rhizobium-triggered soybean root nodulation” after two separate readers contacted the editorial … Continue reading Science rescinds expression of concern issued last month  ( 7 min )

The journal BMC Public Health plans to retract an article that found smoking rates fell faster than expected in the US as use of e-cigarettes increased, Retraction Watch has learned. The authors contend that they addressed the issues cited in the retraction notice during the peer review process and say they addressed them even more … Continue reading Exclusive: Public health journal says it will retract vaping paper for questions authors say were addressed in peer review  ( 9 min )

Made with a rich pork broth, tart sorrel, spring onions, and green garlic, this green borsch celebrates the abundance of spring and early summer.  ( 18 min )

We compiled a list of all of the best Staub gear from our thoroughly tested reviews, including Dutch ovens, enameled cast iron skillets, and ceramic baking dishes.  ( 18 min )

With temperatures adjustable to a single degree, this gooseneck kettle is great for pourover coffee and looseleaf tea.  ( 12 min )

Also mutual fund diversification and Sorrento and Scilex.  ( 2 min )

Gov. @RonDeSantis: "If we don't get our act together, 25 years from now, school children in this country are going to be forced to learn 37 different pronouns in Mandarin and we cannot let that happen." pic.twitter.com/Wk8dKWlK5h — Never Back Down (@NvrBackDown24) July 17, 2023 It's just not going to happen. Mandarin pronouns are famously […]  ( 10 min )

The recent controversy about Florida's new State Academic Standards for Social Studies leaves something out, in my opinion. The point of contention is the assertion (p.6) that "Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit". Critics have taken this as an inappropriate pitch for the benefits […]  ( 11 min )

Today's Non Sequitur: So of course I gave GPT-4 this prompt: "Based on Mark Twain's writings, sketch the plot for a new novel by him." I suspect that I'm not the first person to ask this question, because GPT-4's answer began streaming out instantly: Title: "Driftwood: An American Journey" Part I: The Innocent Boyhood Our […]  ( 9 min )

[This is a guest post by Max Deeg.  Although the following text has profound implications for anyone who is seriously interested in the actualities of translation between two very different kinds of languages from antiquity, it is fundamentally a task for specialists to render this type of Middle Buddhist Hybrid Sinitic into English.  This is […]  ( 19 min )

The rise of data sharing, open-access publishing, and other open science practices have brought needed transparency to scientific research. But fixing academia’s reproducibility crisis may require an even bolder step — sharing physical samples — argue a materials scientist and a science educator.  ( 12 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Grandma’s cake and chit-chat—that’s the concept behind the lovable Munich café and bakery Kuchentratsch (in German, ‘cake gossip’). Located in the heart of the Bavarian capital, this sweet haven has perfected the typical German tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen-Zeit (afternoon coffee and cake time) and put it toward a good cause. The establishment doubles as a social initiative startup where all fresh-baked confections are made by local elderly folks. Founded in 2014, Kuchentratsch serves some of the city’s best traditional German cakes. Depending on the season, and who’s aproned-up that day, a delectable selection may include anything from rhubarb torte to crumb cake (Streuselkuchen) to marble cake (Marmorkuchen). Cakes are displayed in a glass vitrine next to the name of the Oma or Opa (grandma or grandpa) who made them. Cakes are delivered Germany-wide but for sit-in guests, the bakery provides cozy tables in an inviting interior. Think: large glass windows are adorned with plush armchairs against a strawberry-pink ceiling. Throughout the day, elderly folks bake in an open kitchen and socialize around tables, gabbing while waiting on their oven timers. Pensioners work part-time at Kuchentratsch, and many spend their retirement time getting together here, even when they’re not on duty for the dough. The wafting aromas of warm treats and happy banter contribute to the ambience that owners Katharina Mayer and Katrin Blaschke always wanted: an interactive “experience bakery” spanning tastes and generations. Along with frequent baking workshops, Kuchentratsch aims to support the elderly with a fun hobby that provides purpose, prevents loneliness and supplements pensions with extra pocket money. So, whether you go for the poppy seed crumble or a chocolate cake made especially for the vegan crowd, rest assured that, as the German saying also goes in English, “the way to one’s heart is always through the stomach.”  ( 13 min )

Taiwan, an island, cherishes seafood as a culinary staple. For generations, seafood soups and congee used to dominate the breakfast tables and early morning street food stall menus, until they were slowly phased out for more popular wheat-based dishes like scallion pancakes and egg crepes. Emmanuel is one of the few exceptions and has been whipping up comforting bowls of hot tilapia soup for hungry customers in the morning since 1977.  For decades, the place was an old road side stall servicing blue-collar workers. But in 2021, the third-generation owner convinced his parents to take over and give the brand a 21st-century face-lift. They’ve since relocated to a cozy brick-and-mortar space with indoor seating and air conditioning.  Despite the refresh, the menu and the prices have stayed exactly the same: whole slabs of fish sourced fresh from the market daily are served in soup, usually paired with a hearty serving of stir-fried rice vermicelli with a heaping of braised ground pork, crunchy bean sprouts, and housemade chili sauce. Every fish is carefully skinned and gutted and served whole—with the head, eyes, and fins still intact.  While the menu is small, there is something for everyone on it. If fish isn’t your thing, they do a classic egg drop soup or one topped with hearty slices of pork.The best part? The prices for each dish has stayed well under 100 NTD ($3 USD).  ( 13 min )

Real Guts Cafe is a mecca for Taiwanese cinephiles. Stocked with movie paraphernalia and books, it is the brainchild of Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng, whose Cape No. 7 was Taiwan's second highest-grossing movie of all time and achieved the longest theatrical release in the island’s cinematic history.  The food is typical cafe fare: coffees, teas, sandwiches, waffles. For something more substantial, they do a decent barbecued pork, sliced into thin pieces, paired with a sunny side-up egg and served over rice. There are grilled rice balls and bright salads. Even local craft beer if one is so inclined.  However, the food is secondary because the main draw at Real Guts is the decor. There are old film cameras, director clapboards from Wei’s movie sets, and two real Golden Horse awards (considered the Oscars of Chinese-language cinema) on display. There’s also an entire bookshelf brimming with storyboards and set design drafts, plus a merchandise section selling miscellanea like T-shirts of endemic Taiwanese animals.  While it’s all a bit chaotic, Real Guts draws a consistent crowd of work-from-home folks and students, who like the floor-to-ceiling windows and lush foliage that hangs from the nooks and crannies of the space. Stocked with a reasonable amount of outlets and Wi-Fi, it is a relaxing place to pull up a laptop and get some work done.  ( 13 min )

The common shrew only lives about a year. Black rhinos, on the other hand, can make it to a 50th birthday. They’re very different creatures, for sure, but even species that are rather alike—take a lab rat and a wild, hairless counterpart, the naked mole rat—can have drastically different lifespans, too. Think three years versus 30. We humans can live twice or three times as long as our closest relatives, chimpanzees. It’s natural to ask which mammal lives the longest. Spoiler alert: It’s the bowhead whale. (There are a few other, non-mammalian creatures that have them beat: a deep-dwelling shark, a clam, a jellyfish that just doesn’t die at all.) But what constitutes a long life can vary widely based on size and lifestyle, metabolism and environment, so maybe the better question is why s…  ( 23 min )

Every day, scores of tourists cross Charles Bridge and flock towards the John Lennon Wall in the Malá Strana district, making their way across the island of Kampa. If you take that route, chances are you'll be passing over the Čertovka, or the Devil's Stream, a quaint little canal that gives the area its nickname: Little Venice. As you cross a small bridge over the stream, there'll be a post-medieval water mill called the Grand Priory Mill on the other side, just about 50 yards away from the John Lennon Wall. At first glance, it's simply a cute, quaint sight, but then you'll catch sight of a strange figure sitting on the wooden platform beside it. Squint and zoom in, and you will see that it's not really a human figure, but a googly-eyed, green-skinned goblin smoking a pipe. His origin…  ( 13 min )

Just south of England's Lake District in Cumbria, a medieval building, known as the Castle Dairy in Kendal, has two minuscule windows that provide just enough light for the 700-year-old rooms. The Castle Dairy may be the oldest continuously inhabited building in the historic market town, and it's believed someone has lived there since the early 14th century. Originally built as a farmhouse, the building's subsequent uses are unknown, though it was possibly used as a private residence. The name "dairy" may have been a corruption of "dowry" and it has been inferred that the property was once a widow's home. While some of the original windows were once bricked up, over the years many of them have been reopened. On the upper floor, there is a small chapel with one of the small windows while the other miniature window looks out from the other side of the house. One local story claims that the floor contains remnants from a Roman road, which once ran along the banks of the river Kent.  ( 12 min )

In ancient Greece, yearly theater competitions sponsored by chorēgia, wealthy patrons of the dramatic arts, were held in the Theater of Dionysus. The chorēgia, literally "the leader of the chorus," who sponsored the winning performance received a large winning trophy. In 320 BC, Thrasyllos earned the first-place prize for “Tribe of Hippothontis” and commissioned a monument for his large bronze tripod trophy. He was given the unusual privilege of locating this monument halfway up the south slope of the Acropolis in Athens. The monument was built with a variety of marbles from local quarries to form a small temple the filled the opening of a natural, large cave. The façade was built as a close replica of the west facade of the south wing of the Propylaea on the Acropolis, with two monument…  ( 14 min )

Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. When you were a kid, chances are you spent at least one starry night outside, looking up in awe and curiosity—and maybe confusion—about everything up there. If you have children in your life, this experience is one of the most fun things you can offer during summertime (besides, I suppose, a trip to the pool or some ice cream). Kids love being outside past sunset and up way past their bedtimes. Ask me how I know. But when they have a reason to d…  ( 20 min )

Northeast of Leeds, England is the small town of Pickering in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire. The small town's parish church, the Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, features remarkable original medieval wall paintings and welcomes both human and canine visitors. The first church on the site was built by the Anglo-Saxons. But the church was later rebuilt around 1140 following a Norman design. Later additions were then added in the 13th and 14th centuries. The church's famous medieval wall paintings were most likely commissioned and painted in the mid-14th century based on the costumes of some of the figures and what is known about that time period. The paintings feature images of people, some with armor, alongside horses and dragons, and they depict Christ's passion, including the c…  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we head to the jungle and a series of nighttime hikes, where Altas Obscura Creative Director and podcast producer Chris Naka overcame his bug-phobia, once and for all. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 13 min )

One of two businesses that were owned by Civil Rights activist and NAACP leader Ralph Quarterman. His home from 1937 is located next door. According to locals, there was once a gas pump and a huge farm at the original shop.  ( 12 min )

There should be an imprint of the kinematic dipole observed in the cosmic microwave background in any cosmological tracer: The dipole is set by the Solar System barycentric velocity relative to the local Hubble flow, and that same velocity should imprint a dipole on anything cosmological. I have been working on this in part because it is a good measurement to make with , and in part because the dipole in the quasars . I have many thoughts, but I will save them for later.Quaiais controversial Anyways, Abby Williams (NYU) has been working on making this measurement, and her dipole amplitude and direction depend on what we hold fixed and what we vary (in particular selection-function components), and they also depend on what sky region we use. None of this is surprising; the selection function has a strong dipole in it, and it is not known precisely. But then I don't understand how the studies published previously have such good error bars. Maybe they didn't consider the various different fitting regimes?  ( 14 min )

Writing sucks, but if you’re going to do it, at least make it good Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

How your research skills can make or break your freelance writing career Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

It's often said that "social issues" are more divisive than economic ones, and that increased political polarization in the United States reflects a shift from economic to social issues as the main focus of politics.  A good summary of this view is provided by William Galston, as quoted in a recent column by Thomas Edsall:  first, “The economic axis that defined our politics from the beginning of New Deal liberalism to the end of Reagan conservatism has been displaced," and then  "When the core political issues are matters of right and wrong rather than more and less, compromise becomes much more difficult, and disagreement becomes more intense. If I think we should spend X on farm programs and you think it should be 2X, neither of us thinks the other is immoral or evil. But if you think I…  ( 10 min )

Allegations of data fabrication have sparked the retraction of multiple papers from Ranga Dias, a researcher who claimed discovery of a room-temperature superconductor

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, headed for its closest encounter with the sun next year, has started to heat up, leading to a cinematic outburst of icy volcanism

With their stealth, speed and serrated teeth, sharks are predators to be reckoned with. And that’s before factoring in the cocaine some sharks may be eating

A new USDA report finds forests could become a major emitter of carbon by 2070

Attempts to understand the psychopathology of romantic infatuation and sexual predation are still in their infancy

Some of the most vulnerable communities in the U.S. live in places that are particularly prone to frequent, prolonged power outages

Electronics that can bend, stretch and repair themselves could potentially work in applications ranging from tougher robots to smart clothes

Plus: Gophers AD unaware of toxic behavior in football program; 600 Kowalski workers prepare to strike; what happened to Uptown Theater's iconic sign; and more.  ( 8 min )

No. Gov. Tim Walz did not sign into law a bill imposing consequences for vehicles parking in bike lanes. The Minnesota legislative session adjourned on May 22, 2023, and will not reconvene until February 12, 2024.  ( 7 min )

No. Mayor Frey signed an executive order on July 21 lowering the priority that psychedelics have for law enforcement. The city states that “many other higher priorities,” such as addressing violent crime and opioid use, take precedent.  ( 6 min )

The lack of moisture has far-reaching implications, including on agriculture and water levels on the country's largest rivers.  ( 15 min )

Yes. A new law signed by Gov. Tim Walz in March allows Minnesota residents, regardless of their immigration status, to get a driver’s license starting Oct. 1, 2023.  ( 7 min )

Another section of state law not amended by the new recreational marijuana law contains a default penalty — a petty misdemeanor — for any acts that are made illegal but lack specific penalties.  ( 38 min )

Two new books explore Bob Dylan’s roots in Hibbing and Duluth, with fellow Iron Range songwriter Paul Metsa at the heart of both.  ( 19 min )

Isolating TikTok as a villain while other social media platforms and executives constantly face scrutiny seems disingenuous.  ( 9 min )

Plus: Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara talks Third Precinct; MDE to get inspector general; Golden Valley's open pit; downburst winds caused Hudson damage; and more.  ( 8 min )

From Sarah Gao and Andrew Gao, "On the Origin of LLMs: An Evolutionary Tree and Graph for 15,821 Large Language Models", arxiv.org 7/19/2023: That's not a vinyl — it's a "radial dendrogram" — showing the evolutionary tree of nearly 6,000 Large Language Models posted at Hugging Face. Zeroing in on one quadrant, so you can […]  ( 8 min )

During the first twenty years of my academic career, if anybody asked me what my specialty was, I would have told them something like "medieval popular Buddhist vernacular Chinese literature".  In that usage of "vernacular", which I thought was the standard meaning of the term, I simply considered it a register of language and writing […]  ( 13 min )

Ashley Belanger, "OpenAI, Google will watermark AI-generated content to hinder deepfakes, misinfo", ars technica 7/21/2023: Seven companies — including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, Anthropic, and Inflection —- have committed to developing tech to clearly watermark AI-generated content. That will help make it safer to share AI-generated text, video, audio, and images without misleading others […]  ( 14 min )

I was invited by David Banks to give an introductory talk on large language models to the regional American Statistical Association meeting on large language models. Here are the slides: Bob Carpenter. 2023. Language models for statisticians: from n-grams to … Continue reading →  ( 9 min )

Philip Greengard writes: This tweet by Nate Silver in which he says that the UFOs that made news recently are “almost definitely not aliens” reminded me of some discussions on your blog including this. I thought you had another blog … Continue reading →  ( 16 min )

A young man in the second-century Roman empire explores philosophy and religion as he travels through life.  ( 3 min )

Also PacWest, Apple Card and Nauru.  ( 2 min )

1. Mutable.ai on how AI will affect the corporation. 2. Gagosian (New Yorker, very good piece). 3. Exposure to robot preachers undermines religious commitment. 4. Does Singapore like China too much? 5. Not exactly my view, but a thoughtful look at Israel’s recent reforms. 6. The world’s last internet cafes. The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to James N. Markels. I very much believe in ... by LivelyClock In reply to Rando. Close. It goes: Righties think lefties ... by DeQuan In reply to Equestrian. Given this intellectual influence ... by the king of texas In reply to James. I agree with all your points. And also, a ... by Dan S. What I've been reading: ... by Travis Wilmot Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

India recently banned the export of non-Basmati rice. What are the economics of export bans? An export ban will tend to decrease the world supply thereby raising world prices but some of the previously exported goods will flow to the domestic market reducing domestic prices, which is the typical reason for an export bans. FT: […] The post The Economics of Export Bans appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to rayward. > You don't incentivize the production ... by Oldcurmudgeon In reply to Worley. Agreed. AI is important, but it's also ... by Pipsterate In reply to Hazel Meade. Unless you believe there is an ... by russell1200 In reply to Hola. My bad. I hadn't completely read the whole ... by Hazel Meade In reply to rayward. It will slow down China more than it ... by sxb Plus 10 more... Related Stories German deindustrialization crisis of the day The disinflation as American triumph Mental health and European economics departments  ( 6 min )

I am away from my review copy, so I am pleased that Matt Yglesias has offered ($) a good “standing on one foot” summary of the plan, as outlined in the new book We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care, by Amy Finkelstein and Liran Einav: They call for: A universal basic insurance system, […] The post The Amy Finkelstein and Liran Einav health care plan appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to asdf. The price of a brand drops +90% after ... by Karen Tibbals In reply to Lord Action. Very anecdotal, but I've spent many ... by Glenn In reply to Charles Dinerstein, MD MBA. Why shouldn't people ... by Chuck37 Economists contibuted to the fecklessness of government by ... by Lee A. Arnold In reply to Rahul. “Exploited” is a one way street. The ... by pcrh Plus 10 more... Related Stories On-line, Chinese production of *The Three-Body Problem* Australia fact of the day SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited  ( 6 min )

Today might have seen the biggest physics discovery of my lifetime. I don't think people fully grasp the implications of an ambient temperature / pressure superconductor. Here's how it could totally change our lives. — Alex Kaplan (@alexkaplan0) July 26, 2023 I am eager to learn more and to see how (if?) this holds up.  […] The post Claims about room temperature superconductivity appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Marian Kechlibar. SK is a patenting powerhouse. by jayson In reply to Rahul. In the Bednorz/Muller discovery( High Tc , ... by sxb In reply to Rahul. skeptical and optimistic are different ... by steveh In reply to James Lavin. Wow! Can I have your autograph! ... by Dilbert T. Washington In reply to anonprof. Optimistic scientists are how we end up ... by Rahul Plus 10 more... Related Stories SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited More on Singapore and public sector talent development Dear Chat-GPT (just one opinion)  ( 4 min )

With subtitles, find it here. The post On-line, Chinese production of *The Three-Body Problem* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Anoniemoose. “(And magically all societies ... by bob In reply to Editor in Chief. Book plays hard on shallow ... by Anoniemoose I couldn't put down the first book! Read it in 2 days. The next ... by Editor in Chief Tried to watch this, it was absolute garbage. Loved the book, ... by Just bad I don't think any book has been more overrated in the last 30 ... by Frank Plus 6 more... Related Stories The Amy Finkelstein and Liran Einav health care plan SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited How to assign property rights in actor AI likenesses  ( 4 min )

In the 90’s there was Pulp Fiction, and then there was everything else. Pulp Fiction had close to the same effect (without the avalanche of toys and tie-in products) as Star Wars had in the previous generation. But there was one film that brought the Cassavettes to the wood-paneled Tarantino 70’s, a Danish film called […]  ( 11 min )

The Spanish drinking vessel is a fit for celebrations and all sorts of sprits, including wine.  ( 17 min )

The Blob Toy 📌 This post is gonna take a while ’cause I’m still playing with the blob thingy. 😎 Web Check 📌 “The core philosophy is simple: feed Web-Check a URL and let it gather, collate, and present a broad array of open data for you to delve into.” Obsidian CLI (github) “Interact with Obsidian in the terminal. Open, search, create, update, move and delete notes!” I like it. 😎 Embed The Fed 📌 “All it takes is a single javascript file & one new element in your markup to embed any fediverse feed you want!” The Neocities CLI 📌 “Manage your site using a shell terminal”  ( 2 min )

Are attending this year’s Joint Statistical Meetings in Toronto? If so, stop by booth 404 to see the latest features of BlueSky Statistics. A menu-based graphical user interface for the R language, BlueSky lets people access the power of R without having to learn to program. Programmers can easily add ... Continue reading: See BlueSky Statistics GUI for R at JSM 2023  ( 8 min )

Intro “How is the experiment going?” Also: “Do we already see something?” And my favorite one: “Did we already hit significance, or do we need more data?” If you have dealt with experiments with relatively high outcome Continue reading: AB tests and repeated checks  ( 19 min )

Today, subsidies are the most common method of encouraging countries to deal with global warming; but it is debatable how effective they are. For instance, agriculture subsidies cause farmers to violate forest frontier and make them responsible for 14% of global deforestation every year. Not to mention excessive use of fertilizers ... Continue reading: Understanding the Effect of Subsidies on Agriculture with Neural Networks  ( 15 min )

One of the joys (?) of having been online for…quite some time now…is watching topics reappear every few years or so. So what’s new? In terms of English word matches: not much. Some new proteins but no new 9-letter words. The Twitter thread, above, contains an interesting reply ... Continue reading: Price’s Protein Puzzle: 2023 update  ( 10 min )

Continue reading: Barbie and math  ( 24 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Summarizing Data in R: tapply() vs. group_by() and summarize()  ( 12 min )

1 Introduction periodogram Continue reading: Autoregressive Moving Average Models and Power Spectral Densities  ( 33 min )

I (only! but luckily!) recently got introduced to the magic of purrr::reduce(). Thank you, Tobias! I was told about it right as I was unhappily using many for loops in a package1, for lack of a better idea. In this post I’ll explain how purrr::re... Continue reading: Reducing my for loop usage with purrr::reduce()  ( 13 min )

Introducing cran.dev shortlinks! Continue reading: New cran.dev shortlinks to package information and documentation  ( 11 min )

An alumna of the lab of Carlo Croce, a high-profile cancer researcher at The Ohio State University with 14 retractions, has sued the institution over the results of its investigation that found she committed research misconduct.  Flavia Pichiorri is now a principal investigator with her own lab researching potential therapies for multiple myeloma at City … Continue reading Exclusive: City of Hope cancer researcher goes to court to fight misconduct finding  ( 10 min )

Kaiser enjoys some graphics about hot dog eating.  ( 7 min )

...

Experts say that, in recent years, falsehoods have increasingly appeared in university lectures and course materials. Such claims often tout the superiority of traditional knowledge over modern science and cite ancient Hindu texts as evidence. Dissenting voices face how to uphold scientific rationalism.  ( 15 min )

Researchers develop a machine-learning technique that can efficiently learn to control a robot, leading to better performance with fewer data.  ( 10 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

Why did 64 members of Israel’s Knesset just vote to change how the Israeli government operates, to give the Prime Minister and his cabinet nearly unchecked power as in autocratic regimes—even as the entire opposition walked out of the chamber rather than legitimize the vote, even as the largest protests in Israel’s history virtually shut […]  ( 4 min )

Why did 64 members of Israel’s Knesset just vote to change how the Israeli government operates, to give the Prime Minister and his cabinet nearly unchecked power as in autocratic regimes—even as the entire opposition walked out of the chamber rather than legitimize the vote, even as the largest protests in Israel’s history virtually shut […]  ( 4 min )

Although researchers in fundamental science have a tendency to "stick to what works" and avoid disruptive innovations until they are shown to be well-tested and robust, the recent advances in computer science leading to the diffusion of deep neural networks, ultimately stemming from the large increases in performance of computers of the past few decades (Moore's law), cannot be ignored. And they haven't - the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson, for instance, heavily used machine learning techniques to improve the sensitivity of the acquired particle signals in the ATLAS and CMS detectors. read more  ( 4 min )

I don’t like to fly around much anymore. But since I’m spending half a year in Scotland I figured it wasn’t too bad to take a ferry up to the Orkney Islands, at the northern end of this country, to see a bunch of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites. I spent all my […]  ( 7 min )

My conversation with Bergemann (MPIA) yesterday and a conversation with Fouesneau (MPIA) today made me think that it should be possible to do a complete search of the ESA XP spectra for zero-metallicity (and I mean primordial-abundances) stars. The spectra are easy to compute, and the hypothesis tests against normal stellar models are all set up already in the codes run at MPIA. Let's do this and find the elusive (literally zero membership, apparently) population-III stars in the Milky Way.Gaia  ( 14 min )

In Rice, California, close to the Heart of the Mojave, a plethora of shoes hang over the decaying remains of a small gas station. Though where this tradition started is unknown, locals say that the area originally had a Shoe Tree. After the tree collapsed, the shoe collection moved to the metal roof of the abandoned gas station. An overturned palm tree and tower of tires on the property sport similar used soles.  ( 12 min )

For first-timers, a trip to Taiwan isn’t complete without a hearty bowl of beef noodle soup. A dish unique to the island, it was invented in the mid-20th century by refugees who had left the Chinese mainland for Taiwan during the Chinese civil war. Today, it’s become somewhat of the national dish of Taiwan. But with over 10,000 dedicated beef noodle soup shops on the island, narrowing down the options is a harrowing task.  Chef Hung Beef Noodle Soup is a great place to start. The eponymous owner Hung Ching-Lung is a five-time award-winning champion of the annual beef noodle soup competition in Taiwan—the most decorated winner in the event’s history.  The restaurant’s menu offers a diverse overview of the beef noodle soup options on the island, from a classic star-anise-heavy broth flavored with spicy bean paste to a minimally seasoned clear broth where delicate slices of beef are highlighted. A couple of Hung’s award-winning bowls are on the menu as well: there’s one topped with tripe, tendon, and shank and another with medium rare, paper-thin slices of beef overlaid on top.  For Chef Hung, beef noodle soup is much more than just a profession. It’s a passion. He has a cattle farm on the outlying island of Kinmen, where he raises his own cows for the restaurants. And he’s often tasked with training up-and-coming chefs on how to make a fantastic beef broth for their restaurants. He says the key is procuring a really high-quality cut of beef and making a flavorful broth. Everything else is just secondary.  ( 13 min )

The church of St. George the Martyr is the oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia. Before the church was built, religious services in Penang were conducted at Fort Cornwallis and later at the courthouse in George Town, a short distance away. Plans for a church were submitted as early as 1810 but it wasn’t until the East India Company Act of 1813 gave the British East India Company authority that the church was built. It was constructed in 1818 and consecrated in 1819 costing some 60,000 Spanish dollars (also known as "pieces of eight"). The first significant event that took place in the church after its completion was the wedding of Governor William Edward Philips to Janet Bannerman, the daughter of his predecessor, Colonel John Alexander Bannerman on June 30, 1818. On the grounds stands a memorial to Francis Light, a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang and its capital city George Town in 1786. Interestingly, he is also the father of William Light, who founded the city of Adelaide in Australia. The church was first restored after being looted and badly damaged during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia in the Second World War. It was restored again in 2011 after being designated a National Heritage in 2007.  ( 12 min )

This eclectic 80s erotica-themed bar fronted by a bright and loud neon sign is a celebration of vices. Inside: a cheeky diner awash in red lighting, analog phones, floral print diner chairs, plush banquettes, and a working disco ball in the corner. Keeping with the theme, the shelves are stocked with magazines crammed with centerfolds of busty, scantily clad women.   The aesthetic of Pure Love is a nod to the “grandpa shops” of Taipei—old-school karaoke rooms where older men are known to seek the company and services of flirtatious waitresses. Big in the ‘60s and up to the ‘80s, they have since waned considerably in popularity after a crackdown in prostitution in the ‘90s.   Pure Love Snack Bar is a modern revival of the grandpa shop, but without any of the shady or illegal dealings. The food is unpretentious and rooted in Taiwanese classics like braised pork over rice, oyster soup, fried chicken, and deep-fried noodles smothered in an earthy satay sauce. The drinks are more elevated and utilize locally available flavors like guava, tieguanyin tea, and mulberry.  ( 13 min )

Tucked inside an old wooden building framed by a thick canopy of bright pink bougainvillea, Jinjiang Tea Room has been slinging out hearty dishes for over a decade. The term “tea house” is a misnomer; Jinjiang is a full-service restaurant dedicated to Hakka cuisine—the fare of a Han Chinese subgroup known for its emphasis on salty and smoked meats and a love of pickles.  Situated in an 80-something-year-old house dating back to the Japanese colonial occupation of Taiwan, the restaurant is a quaint cottage in a forest of skyscrapers. The inside is just as charming, with outdated white ceiling tiles, wooden tables, and shelves stuffed with cute knick-knacks and miscellaneous clutter.  The food is as wholesome as the decor. They do cold poached chicken—the skin crisp and gelatinous—served with a kumquat dipping sauce. There’s a lovely salted pork, sliced into bite-sized pieces, which pairs especially well with a hot bowl of short-grain rice dressed with soy  sauce-flavored lard. The tender shoots of bird’s nest ferns are sauteed with the pickled seeds of a bird lime tree. There’s slippery noodles made with green tea, and thick belts of rice noodles with minced pork. Dessert is complimentary—usually a bowl of grass jelly, a mint-like herb beloved among the Hakka in Taiwan, or small mochi balls dressed with sweet ground peanuts.  For the full experience, finish off with lei cha, a ground tea made with pounded grains. It’s akin to matcha, but less vegetal and more toasted and nutty.  ( 13 min )

Some 1,000 years ago, the Normans pushed north attempting to subjugate part of Westmorland. As part of this effort, Castle Howe was built. Kendal’s undisputed first castle, Castle Howe, was built in 1092 and overlooks the town. The fortifications consist of a well-defined motte, rising to around 33 feet and measuring around 59 feet in diameter at the summit. The base of the motte measures around 150 feet, and is surrounded by ditches and embankments. The bailey lays to the east of the motte, and is roughly triangular in shape, and was turned into a bowling green and is now a public park. The Barony of Kendal fell at the hands of Ivo de Taillebois around 1092 and as a reward for his unfailing military support and success, Ivo was granted the Barony of Kentdale, a title that brought with it huge swathes of land in what is now Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. Kendal Castle, to the east of the earthworks, was probably built while Castle Howe was still being used. Likely, Castle Howe was the baronial center of Kirkland, and Kendal Castle was the baronial center of Kentdale. Castle Howe eventually became redundant, as did the Kendal Castle, and the administrative center of Kendal moved to the Moot Hall in the center of town. In 1788, to celebrate the centenary of the revolution of 1688, an obelisk was erected on the summit of Castle Howe. The monument was designed by architect Francis Webster who was a native of Kendal.  ( 12 min )

This quiet neighborhood was once considered the future of urban living. The district of Hansaviertel was a rich urban neighborhood, and quite desirable thanks to its proximity to the city center while being right next to Tiergarten Park. But after the Second World War, it was almost completely leveled. East Berlin had been rebuilding over the 50s, courtesy of its new socialist government and the West didn’t want to be left behind. To show that they were a new free and capitalist society, they also decided to rebuild, and the destroyed district of Hansaviertel proved to be an ideal location. More than 50 architects were invited to work on the project, German and international alike. There were some famous names in the group, including Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer, the designer of the new Brazilian capital. Each presented their own future vision of housing. The district contains a school, a kindergarten, a shopping center with a library and a theatre, and even an academy of arts. Additionally, every house has some special spin. They usually have descriptions on the ground floor somewhere, though a guide can be bought at the shopping center at a club made for this district  ( 12 min )

The world has seen many unique methods aimed at increasing road safety, from traffic control towers to roadside sentries. In Miyakojima, the local traffic safety association tried a slightly new way back in the 1990s, when five policemen-like figurines were set up at various crossings around the island. These were known as Mamoru-kun patrolmen.  As the story goes, Mamoru-kun was born on August 5, 1991. He stands 180 centimeters tall, and his official titles are "Miyakojima Safety Association Staff" and "Miyakojima Police Transportation Division Officer." Over the years there have been more figurines set up all over the island. Currently you can find 20 Mamoru-kun in various places in Miyakojima. Nineteen of these patrolmen are male, but at the Miyakojima Police Station, you can also find his female colleague Maruko-chan. Thanks to their loyal service in all weather conditions, Mamoru-kun was also given a special Miyakojima residence permit by Mayor Toshihiko Shimoji in a ceremony back in 2012. Originally these figurines were considered kimo (creepy), but recently Mamoru-kun have got their own fanbase. With their popularity rising, you can now also find Mamoru-kun cookies, soft drinks, and more.  ( 12 min )

Everyday on the sides of streets across Japan, from major urban intersections to sleepy rural roads, stand young children, poised to dash out into traffic. But Tobita-kun, the name by which the children are commonly known, never actually makes it out onto the road. These “children” are, in fact, a style of wooden sign that for the last half-century has served as a warning to the nation’s drivers to watch for flesh-and-blood children who may unexpectedly dart into traffic, particularly in school zones. Often charmingly handmade by local councils, Tobita-kun has become an icon on Japan’s roadways—and played a role in revolutionizing road safety in the country. In the years following the end of World War II, Japan’s rapid economic recovery was not without challenges. Across the country, ped…  ( 20 min )

At the third meeting of the Moriyama City Firefly Forest Museum’s eight-week Firefly Course, a conservation training program for adults, egg collection begins. Each female Genji firefly, Nipponoluciola cruciata, can lay up to 500 of the caviar-like orbs, carefully depositing them across the mossy banks of rivers and streams in blankets of pale yellow. In the wild, only a tiny fraction of the eggs survive. River pollution, flood prevention measures, overfishing, and excess urban light devastated the insect’s population in the 20th century. But at the museum, artificial breeding and rearing methods will coax 30,000 Genji fireflies into larvae, a phase in which they live like tiny, voracious underwater explorers. Each month, the 10 students of the Firefly Course return to the museum to le…  ( 20 min )

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is known to all and a dream of every actor to be immortalized forever. However, it's not the only place where celebrities get a star on the ground, a much smaller version of the walk can be found in Poland's City of Kings.  The Krakow Walk of Fame, or Aleja Gwiazd, as it is known in Polish has been a mainstay of the city since 2008, with the first person to obtain a star being Céline Dion. The walk was a joint venture between the city government and the radio station RMF FM, their goal is to honor outstanding musicians and bands from not only Poland but the world.  Among the stars, visitors will find many locals from Poland, but also more internationally known names such as Michael Jackson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and even Elvis Presley.  ( 12 min )

In Atlas Obscura’s Q&A series Exploration for Everyone, we chat with everyday adventurers and dauntless world travelers about finding wonder without limits. “Come on in, find a seat—I’ve already got one,” Kory Macy says with a sly grin, nodding at her wheelchair as she leads the way into her living room. A wide window looks out onto a picturesque, wooded area on the north side of Madison, Wisconsin—but it’s what’s inside that catches the eye. The modest apartment she shares with her husband John and two cats is full of framed art, photos, and other souvenirs from her travels across five continents. There’s an entire wall of selfies: dogsledding across a snowy landscape, sitting on a Galápagos beach as seals laze in the background, steering an adaptive bicycle, kayaking, skydiving. On b…  ( 22 min )

Rather than driving through a tunnel beneath the Alps, this pass offers unparalleled views as you traverse over the mountains. The scenic route connects Val-Cenis in Western France with Susa in Italy, and was one of the most well-traveled paths through the Alps during the Middle Ages. The road will take a few hours to traverse, but the views and sights along the way are well worth it.  Some scholars believe that this is the exact pass that Hannibal took with his army and war elephants in 218 BC. More than a millennia later, in 1414, Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara took this route back to Italy after meeting Charles VI in Paris. Niccolò described the pass as having "a good ascent and bad descent." Pilgrims have also taken this route on the way to Rome and the Vatican for centuries. Eventually, Napoleon built a road on the old pilgrimage trail sometime in the early 19th century. In 1871, a railroad tunnel known as Frejus Tunnel was constructed some 30 miles away. The tunnel connected Mondane, France with Bardonecchia, Italy. It was one of the first tunnels of its kind and exhibited a remarkable feat of engineering for the time. Today, the tunnel is still one of the largest railroad tunnels in the world measuring some eight miles long. The road is also has been used as part of the Tour de France. At the top of the pass, alongside an icy blue lake known as Lac du Mont Cenis, statues of Hannibal's elephants line the trail. The building of a dam created the artificial lake in 1921. The dam, today, feeds two hydroelectric power plants. The lake occasionally empties for maintenance.  At the top of the pass, as you look out over the lake, you'll find a very quirky chapel. Built in 1967, the chapel is shaped like a pyramid and is made of concrete. Today it also houses a museum about the history of this region and is one of the highest museums in Europe. Other nearby sights include a botanical garden and multiple fortifications.  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, Places editors Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy bring us two stories about places with histories that intersect with real-world American espionage. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 13 min )

As ICML 2023 is happening this week, in Hawai’i, many did not have the opportunity to get there, for whatever reason, and hence the ellis (European Lab for Learning {and} Intelligent Systems] board launched [fairly late!] with the help of Hi! Paris an unconference (i.e., a mirror) that is taking place in HEC, Jouy-en-Josas, SW […]  ( 8 min )

After rounds of testing and research, we share everything you need to know to get the most out of your marinades, including how long to marinate for, what kinds of flavors do and don’t penetrate meat, and how to avoid marinade disasters.  ( 23 min )

Making taco seasoning from scratch guarantees a fresher flavor than store-bought mixes—one that you can adjust to your tastes.  ( 14 min )

We tested 13 wine tumblers to find out which were the best—evaluating their cold-retention, ease of use, leak-prevention, and durability.  ( 24 min )

If it’s a writing day then I tend to procrastinate a bit more. I find it’s part of the process. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

From “terribly disgusting” to one of the greatest novels of all time Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Is it time to break the rules? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Plus: Train derailment in Superior; free haircuts for the homeless; Rochester to vote on renewing local sales tax; and more.  ( 8 min )

State corrections officials hope that by 2026, the Transformation and Re-entry through Education and Community will serve some 1,000 incarcerated Minnesotans interested in pursuing associate degrees.  ( 20 min )

This year, more than 60 artists applied for the festival, with a jury selecting the participating artists with an eye toward representing a variety of mediums.  ( 11 min )

A three-year pilot program aims to support districts as ransomware gangs hack into their systems and steal highly sensitive records.  ( 12 min )

After years of litigation, the chain has finally given up hope of reopening a drive-thru on Nicollet Avenue, but, on the whole of it, the drive-thru era is far from over in Minneapolis.  ( 20 min )

The Open App Markets Act will prevent app stores from forcing developers to use their in-app payment systems, ban self-preference schemes, allow developers to directly communicating with their customers, and allow customers to download apps directly.  ( 14 min )

Plus: Minnesota officials preparing for increased marijuana use among motorists; Owatonna school awarded grant from Rachael Ray Foundation; and more.  ( 8 min )

I don’t like to fly around much anymore. But since I’m spending half a year in Scotland I figured it wasn’t too bad to take a ferry up to the Orkney Islands, at the northern end of this country, to see a bunch of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites. I spent all my […]  ( 7 min )

...

Machine Alignment Monday, 7/24/23

Rip currents pose a danger to swimmers at the beach, but they also play an important ecological role in the ocean

Longer, more intense heat waves fueled by climate change could make it harder for planes to get off the ground

“Cell atlases” offer an unprecedented look at how kidney cells become diseased and how fetal cells invade and remodel the placenta’s blood vessels

Young people do not fall into neat categories of race, sexual orientation or gender identity. Research into LGBTQ mental health must take that into account

Some jobs just need the human touch to work, even with automated assistance

Young people can counter social media messaging that promotes thinness by bringing a skeptical take to their viewing habits

Motion capture and detailed face scans allow TV and film production teams to replicate a performer’s likeness. Generative AI is making the process faster and easier

A new study shows U.S. maternal mortality rates are increasing, and health care providers and advocacy groups are racing to build better care for new parents

Climate change made heat waves in the U.S. Southwest, Europe and China hotter and more likely

Forked Lightning, he is from the Harvard Kennedy School, and he is a co-author on the piece with Chetty and John N. Friedman featured on MR earlier today. In his inaugural post he explains some further results from the paper in more detail: The second part [of the paper] shows the impact of attending an Ivy-Plus […] The post David J. Deming now has a Substack appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to y81. I'm in a sedate position in Midlaw not ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Phil S.. Palo Alto landlords and vendors will ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Neurotic. That too. Here is a disquisition on ... by Dismalist So much of this comes down to rational conservative behavior by ... by jasonl In reply to Hazel Meade. I noticed that, too. I'm guessing ... by Dismalist Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges Mental health and European economics departments On white flight (from the comments)  ( 6 min )

1. Microgyms in Singapore. 2. Proof of personhood, by Vitalik. 3. Larry Katz is running unopposed to be the next president of AEA.  I am a big fan of Larry’s work and from hearsay (I don’t know him) he has very sound judgment.  But isn’t it time someone raised their hand and said this system […] The post Tuesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to steve. Democracy is not the default mode of human ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Brian Donohue. SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site was ... by Yeah, about that In reply to OK, trying to keep score. FURIN CLEAVAGE SITE by Brian Donohue In reply to Phinton. There were no facts known at the time, ... by Umm In reply to Now you made me read your link. > Especially ... by Phinton Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Rising reports of suicidal behaviors in children and adolescents have led to the recognition of a youth mental health crisis. However, reported rates can be influenced by access to screening and changes in reporting conventions, as well as by changes in social stigma. Using data on all hospital visits in New Jersey from 2008-2019, we […] The post Is the rising youth suicide rate overstated? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Hoosier. Tyler's overarching theme, from now ... by Derek22 In reply to Todd K. @Todd, related – “Scientists at the ... by M In reply to USA poor life expectancy. RandomCriticalAnalysis ... by Wanda Tinasky In reply to Skeptical American. The downvoters know. I'm used ... by MikeP Yes — suicide has really been increasing for younger people ... by Mary Pat Campbell Plus 10 more... Related Stories David J. Deming now has a Substack The Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges Global (and American) happiness these days  ( 5 min )

This is a long abstract, but it is meaty, and note that papers by these authors have held up well: Leadership positions in the U.S. are disproportionately held by graduates of a few highly selective private colleges. Could such colleges — which currently have many more students from high-income families than low-income families — increase […] The post The Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Joe Q. Sports are a huge part of the economy, so ... by Anonymous In reply to JT. That's why at a large public U, the club ... by Moral Panic In reply to Steve Sailer. It's probably a lot easier for ... by Andao In reply to Just a guy. Son is an athletic recruit. We have ... by Lord Action In reply to KP. I'm pretty sure I'm not in favor of ... by Just a guy Plus 10 more... Related Stories David J. Deming now has a Substack Mental health and European economics departments Is the rising youth suicide rate overstated?  ( 6 min )

Also calculating uninsured deposits, arbing APEs, repricing iRobot, leveraging multistrategy funds and trading all night.  ( 2 min )

When I entered the Airbnb where I'm now staying, one of the first things that caught my attention was the following utensil: There were many puzzling aspects to this device.  First of all, I couldn't tell whether it was an oil separator or an oil cooker, or both.  Second, I wasn't sure what the primary language […]  ( 8 min )

From John Rohsenow, via Mabel Menard, comes this bit of Japanglish: (source) Explication de texte par Monsieur Nathan Hopson: お客様各位 お会計後にトイレをご利用される場合、 ご利用時だけでなくお帰りになる際もレジにお声を掛けて下さい。 Okyakusama kakui Okaikeigo ni toire o go riyō sareru baai, go riyōji dake denaku okaeri ni naru sai mo reji ni o koe o kakete kudasai. Valued Customers, When using the restrooms after purchase, […]  ( 7 min )

Joshua Benton, "If other media companies thought about brand equity the way Elon Musk thinks about Twitter’s (er, X’s)", Nieman Labs 7/24/2023: In the spirit of Tronc, Elon Musk has decided to throw away more than a decade of brand equity by changing the name of Twitter to…the letter X. Imagine if more media executives […]  ( 10 min )

Blue Rose Research has a few roles that we’re actively hiring for as we gear up to elect more Democrats in 2024, and advance progressive causes! A bit about our work: For the 2022 US election, we used engineering and … Continue reading →  ( 10 min )

When the New York Times does it, I’m sad. But, hey, it’s the New York Times, you have to expect some hype and trend-chasing. Part of being “the establishment” is that you get sucked into establishment delusions. When Slate does … Continue reading →  ( 15 min )

The antiparasitic drug ivermectin, which is mostly used on animals, gained a raucous following during the Covid pandemic but never lived up to the hype. Now, a team of scientists has found a new application for something ivermectin was always good at: killing parasites that live in or on animals.  ( 15 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Unraveling Data Insights with R’s fivenum(): A Programmer’s Guide  ( 12 min )

This week’s TidyTuesday concerns what some have called the first randomized clinical trial- a study by James Lind evaluating various treatments for scurvy. This data has been collected into the medicaldata R package from Lind’s book on scurvy. Loading the Libraries and Data library(tidyverse) # who doesn't want ... Continue reading: A Heatmap of James Lind’s Scurvy Study  ( 27 min )

This post is the second one of a series of post about webR: Using webR in an Express JS REST API Note: the first post of this series explaining roughly what webR is,... Continue reading: The Old Faithful Geyser Data shiny app with webR, Bootstrap & ExpressJS  ( 13 min )

Team Ratings for Round 22 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Panthers 11.74 12.99 -1.30 Cowboys 6.44 6.23 0.20 Storm 6.18 11.21 -5.00 Rabbitohs […] NRL Predictions for Round 22 first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

“We introduce the Fixed Landscape Inference MethOd, a new likelihood-free inference method for continuous state-space stochastic models. It applies deterministic gradient-based optimization algorithms to obtain a point estimate of the parameters, minimizing the difference between the data and some simulations according to some prescribed summary statistics. In this sense, it is analogous to Approximate Bayesian […]  ( 7 min )

“We introduce the Fixed Landscape Inference MethOd, a new likelihood-free inference method for continuous state-space stochastic models. It applies deterministic gradient-based optimization algorithms to obtain a point estimate of the parameters, minimizing the difference between the data and some simulations according to some prescribed summary statistics. In this sense, it is analogous to Approximate Bayesian […]  ( 7 min )

Chef Don Baldosano is making waves in Manila with his fine-dining restaurant, Linamnam, where degustation menus put modern, innovative twists on Filipino recipes. Located in his family's backyard, Linamnam (which means “delicious” in Tagalog) was opened in 2018 when Baldosano was still in his teens; fresh from competing on the TV show Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition and a traineeship at Manila’s esteemed Toyo Eatery. Linamnam opened its doors to the public in August 2018, offering a warm setting that puts the spotlight on the chef's bold dishes. The main dining room is a bahay kubo, a traditional thatched-roof, stilt house built on stilts typical to the Filipino lowland countryside. Built by Baldosano’s father, it offers an al fresco space adjacent to the chef‘s own childhood bedroom. …  ( 13 min )

Fine Bagels, a family-owned establishment, has been delighting Berliners with their authentic New York-style bagels since 2013. Laurel Kratochvila’s bagel journey dates back to 1897 when her great-great grandfather, Hyman Cooper, declared that he was moving to New York City for one simple reason: “The bagels are better.” Although he ended up in Boston, running a fix-it shop, his declaration set the stage for four generations of bagel devotion within the family. What began as a small addition to the English-language bookstore Shakespeare and Sons has become a destination in its own right. Laurel brought her family recipes to Berlin, recreating the authentic homemade bagels she missed from her New York roots. Her partner, Roman, who owns other bookstores in the Czech Republic and worked at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris, complements the culinary experience with an extensive collection of English and some French books. Bagels are hand-rolled daily in small batches. Overnight proofing, rapid boiling, and hot baking process lend to an old-fashioned flavor across varieties from poppyseed to cinnamon raisin and rosemary sea salt. A variety of homemade schmears and toppings, including sandwich options with lox and whitefish salad, keeps the bagel game interesting for a dedicated legion of regular customers.  ( 13 min )

This article is from Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. In 1974, the Mauritius kestrel—a photogenic bird with a speckled white breast and a vibrant red back and crown—came frighteningly close to extinction. Only four individuals remained. Thanks to decades of captive breeding on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, the kestrel population climbed to 1,000 birds. Half a century later, as their numbers once again decline, another species is helping the charismatic raptors hang on: the traveler’s tree, a palmlike plant in the genus Ravenala. But traveler’s trees are invasive to Mauritius and are causing problems for other native species in the ecosystem. Conservationists are now faced w…  ( 18 min )

As cities grow, they tend to swallow and overtake smaller towns that were once situated well outside. Often this leads to a loss of the local identity, unless the former towns fight back. Weil am Rhein did this in a very creative way by building giant chairs. The town is situated just over the German border, not far from Dreiländereck, where the borders of Germany, France, and Switzerland meet. It used to be completely separate from Basel, but as both cities grew, their borders started touching more and more, to the point where many people started thinking that Weil am Rhein was the German part of Basel. People in Weil am Rhein disliked this and decided that they needed a new and separate identity from Basel. They decided that giant chairs were the key. Large chairs started appearing all over the town, not only on the ground but also on top of buildings. Most of them are made in a way that makes them climbable. In the 1970s, a local artist and architect named Lassù burned chairs as an art form. He built a large concrete chair on top of a pyramid to allow for recurrent burnings. Furniture is a big bar of the history of Weil am Rhein. The town is home to the headquarters of the Vitra Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of designer furniture in Europe. The company operates the Vitra Design Museum, which explores the history of furniture and interior design. Its collection includes several historically significant chairs, including Eero Saarinen's Tulip Chair, Charles and Ray Eames' iconic Lounge Chair, and many more.  ( 13 min )

Petroglyph Beach is a remarkable site located in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, a scenic park that stretches across Arizona and Utah. Petroglyph Beach stands out as an archaeological treasure and offers visitors a glimpse into the rich history of the region. Situated on the edge of the Colorado River, Petroglyph Beach is named for the numerous petroglyphs found etched into the walls of Glen Canyon. Petroglyphs are ancient rock carvings made by ancient Native Americans who inhabited the area centuries ago. These carvings depict various symbols, animals, and scenes that hold significant cultural and spiritual meaning. The beach itself is a serene and tranquil spot where visitors can relax and enjoy the picturesque surroundings before continuing down the river.  Exploring Petroglyph Beach offers a unique opportunity to connect with the past and appreciate the artistic expressions of the indigenous people who once thrived in the region. The petroglyphs provide a glimpse into their daily lives, beliefs, and experiences. Visitors can spend hours examining the intricate carvings and pondering the stories they tell. It's important to note that Petroglyph Beach is a protected site, and visitors are encouraged to treat it with respect and care. It is essential to avoid touching or damaging the petroglyphs to preserve them for future generations. Many sites within the National Park Service have specific guidelines and regulations in place to ensure their preservation, so it's advisable to follow any posted instructions.  ( 13 min )

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JULY 22, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. I’ve always found it interesting how fictional food makes its way into the real world. A few years back, I wrote an article about how fantasy-novel food is a cuisine unto itself, and I still regret that I was abroad both times that Denny’s had an official Hobbit menu. A few weeks ago, I was reminded of the existence of another fictional culinary genre: anime food. Over the last few decades, Japanese animation and manga has had a huge influence on global fashion, film, music, and art. I would argue that it’s also familiarized people around the world with Japan’s popular and regional foods. I still remember learning about okonomiyaki as a teenager from a beat-up…  ( 20 min )

Krakow is a very old city with many buildings whose construction goes back centuries. Many old utilities can still be found in and around such buildings, some of which have nearly been forgotten. A prime example of this is the so-called torch sockets. These round holes that can be found near the entrance of several buildings in the old town confuse many people. Some think that they are some kind of umbrella stand, or maybe a place for cannon balls. However, their use is much more utilitarian. They were there to help put out torches before one would enter an enclosed and flammable building.  The easiest to find an example of these sockets is the market hall entrance on the old square, where they line the main gate entrance. But many more examples can be found.  ( 12 min )

Sculpted in bronze by Cocoa Beach artist Tasha Drazich and located at the north end of Downtown Cocoa Beach, where A1A splits, the Kelly Slater statue honors Florida's Space Coast hometown hero. Slater grew up in Cocoa Beach and learned to surf all along the Space Coast. Slater has won 11 world titles and is a point of pride in the Space Coast community. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active in the World Surf League and won his eighth title at age 49. However, the statue is located along a highway median, not at the beach. There is a lot of talk locally to move the statue to somewhere with a crosswalk. There is parking on either side in parking lots, but visitors have to cross a two-lane highway.  ( 12 min )

Seyun is one of the largest towns in Yemen's Hadhramaut region. Shibam, the city known for the high concentration of high-rise mud buildings, is a mere 20 kilometers away. While Seiyun may not have the iconic status that its neighboring city enjoys, it is home to one of the largest mud buildings in the world: the Sultan Al Kathiri Palace (aka Seyun Palace). This seven-story palace boasts a total of 45 rooms. Under the white coating is a structure built according to ancient mud-building techniques.  Although a much more ancient military structure existed on this site, the construction of the Sultan Al Kathiri Palace as it has survived into the 21st century was completed in the 1920s. The appellation Kathiri refers to the Sultanate of Kathiri, which began ruling this part of Hadhramaut in …  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we learn about how, for decades, a one-of-a-kind travel guide opened up the world for gay travelers. Today, historians are using them to create an interactive map of LGBTQIA+ spaces in midcentury America. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 12 min )

Among our crosswords and other puzzles, we'll be featuring logic challenges from Puzzle Communication Nikoli, a cult-favorite puzzle publication from Japan. A PDF of the puzzle, as well as the solution, can be downloaded below. Mazes have existed for thousands of years and might be thought of as the very first puzzles in the world; based on the number of people who’ve likely solved them over the years, they might be the most popular form ever. So it is natural that many puzzle creators, including the readers of Puzzle Communication Nikoli, Japan’s influential, reader-driven puzzle magazine, would try to adapt them to the style of grid puzzle that the publication made famous. This effort goes back to Maki Kaji, founder of Nikoli, also known as the “Godfather of Sudoku.” He created a a…  ( 14 min )

I had a great and long conversation today with Maria Bergemann (MPIA) about building a model of a full stellar spectrum out of the models they build of small patches of stellar surface, with full 3D convection and full radiative transfer. Their models are sophisticated, and give a full spectrum in every direction from the surface patch. Thus we can integrate a set of patches into a surrogate combined spectrum for one rotating star covered in convecting patches. We discussed how we might do that, technically, and what projects we might then do with the output. What I want to do (yes, you guessed it) is build data-driven models of stellar granulation to improve radial-velocity surveys.  ( 14 min )

I saw "" today.  Spoiler warning, I suppose, though I think we all know how this story ends.  Just in case you were wondering, there is no post-credit scene to set up the sequel.  (For the humor-impaired: that was a joke.)Oppenheimer The movie was an excellent piece of film-making, and I hope it's an opportunity for a large viewing audience to learn about a reasonable approximation of incredibly consequential history.  Sure, I can nitpick about historical details (why did leave out "", transfer to a different person,  and omit to estimate the yield of the Trinity test?  Why did he show seemingly hanging out at Los Alamos?).  Still, the main points come through - the atmosphere of war-time Los Alamos, and the moral complexity and ambiguity of Oppenheimer and the bomb.  NolanNow we are a…  ( 10 min )

Refining Your Story So Its Inner Brilliance Shines Through  ( 16 min )

You don’t need a massive marketing budget to reach readers Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

It’s less about blocking time and more about integrating writing into your schedule Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Every now and then it’s important for writers to do a reality check Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

A sleep researcher who studies what dreams can tell us about the possible onset of some mental disorders believes lucid dreamers might hold a lot of answers in their heads.

Traits in psychopaths may be present to some extent in all of us. New research is reframing this often maligned set of attributes and finding some positive twists

A Federal Emergency Management Agency analysis of New York City’s inadequate storm drainage system shows that many urban areas can’t handle more intense rainfall

The twisty history and surprise ending of the four-color theorem saga

Revisiting the precious lunar samples on Earth suggests that some areas of the moon’s surface might be older than scientists once thought

Astrophysicist Aomawa Shields recounts her alternative career path in a new memoir about life, space and motherhood

As it turns out, felines can survive a fall from any height—at least in theory

Plus: Extreme heat expected in Minnesota this week; Canadian solar panel company expanding in Minnesota; Vikings' Jordan Addison said dog was having emergency when cited for reckless driving; and more.  ( 8 min )

The Duluth City Council is scheduled to hear a proposal to ban marijuana smoking or vaping in city parks and along the Duluth Lakewalk. Detroit Lakes, Alexandria, Lakeville and West St. Paul are also considering limits.  ( 18 min )

Gallup polls have for 20 years consistently seen independent voters as almost half of those who turn out on Election Day.  ( 17 min )

While it’s true that some types of texture and massing look “cheaper” than others, there are legitimate questions about whether or not newer building materials are more climate friendly and affordable than other materials.  ( 17 min )

Efforts to preserve Lake Itasca led to contention with the lumber industry, public interests, and the politics that weaved between them.  ( 10 min )

About a year ago, mental health providers and hospital administrators started meeting weekly to find ways to reduce emergency department stays. They say changes are under way.  ( 22 min )

Plus: Fargo community mourns fallen officer; toddler's overdose led to drug bust; Democrats file lawsuit over absentee ballots in Wisconsin; and more.  ( 6 min )

Health officials have “virtually” eliminated HIV transmission in parts of Sydney that were once the centre of the Australian Aids epidemic, raising hopes of conquering a disease that has killed more than 40mn people. HIV diagnoses in inner Sydney plunged 88 per cent from the 2008-12 average to just 11 cases last year, a decline […] The post Australia fact of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to myst_05. The less HIV, the more monkeypox? by Steve Sailer In reply to bazza. So you're saying your mother knew her ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to rayward. Is that really Ray praising how easy it ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to bazza. There is no evidence of HIV transmission ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to Random Walker. The kids in detroit are truly ... by Equestrian Plus 10 more... Related Stories Mental health and European economics departments How the NSF Moved Faster than the NIH During COVID-19 Against human-AI collaboration  ( 5 min )

1. Sensible talk from the Left about how little the Left is offering so many American men. 2. Where did our belief in abundance come from?  The Bible, no? 3. TC as Information Monster. 4. milky eggs on life extension.  I don’t endorse (or deny) any of that, but why not more discussion on pursuing […] The post Monday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Ben Smith. Fair, but, I also tend to think ... by Hazel Meade 1 any sociologist bodies remember these deep thoughts from 2021 ... by sisterogersintersectionalneighborhoodfilmreviews In reply to ralph. and the other thing I must point out in ... by ralph In reply to Billt. Correct, and if you remember the Odyssey, ... by Hazel Meade In reply to Ricardo. What kind of anarchist crankishness is ... by Cellador Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Geoengineering first came to much of the public’s attention in Levitt and Dubner’s 2009 book SuperFreakonomics. Levitt and Dubner were heavily criticized and their chapter on geoengineering was called patent nonsense, dangerous and error-ridden, unforgivably wrong and much more. A decade and a half later, it’s become clear that Levitt and Dubner were foresighted and […] The post SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Steve. The word you ignore is “quickly”. He ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to Pshrnk. Well, I guess those three words don't ... by Derek22 In reply to Vulcidian. So what if adding 2m tons to sulfer ... by Boonton In reply to Dave. Any thermal power station (including ... by Cyrus In reply to Time to go nuclear. My buddy's mother makes $85 ... by SGfrmthe33 Plus 10 more... Related Stories Matt Yglesias on European politics Global (and American) happiness these days How to assign property rights in actor AI likenesses  ( 7 min )

Our world, in a nutshell, good and bad: Neither the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) nor data used in the World Happiness Report from the Gallup World Poll shifted much in response to negative shocks. The HDI has been rising in the last decade or so reflecting overall improvements in economic and social wellbeing, captured […] The post Global (and American) happiness these days appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to El Conquistador. After a trip to my local Trader ... by Harun In reply to EdR. My buddy's mother makes $85 per hour working ... by SGfrmthe33 In reply to El Conquistador. Not an Economist but it's an odd ... by M In reply to El Conquistador. I'm not an economist, but I play ... by EdR In reply to EdR. Ooops! My numbers are wrong. The avg. ... by EdR Plus 10 more... Related Stories Progress SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited How to assign property rights in actor AI likenesses  ( 4 min )

This is an issue in the Actors and Writers Guild strikes, with a key issue being whether studios should be making “take it or leave it” offers which give them rights to the AI likenesses in perpetuity, even for extras.  Here is part of my take in my latest Bloomberg column: I suggest that the […] The post How to assign property rights in actor AI likenesses appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Reason. My buddy's mother makes $85 per hour ... by SGfrmthe33 In reply to Dismalist. I guess the fear is that this is ... by JM In reply to Slocum. Yes, absolutely. There are already a fair ... by Gal Ambone In reply to Alex VB. I have been wondering what the actors ... by Gal Ambone In reply to Paul. Most of us aren't good-looking enough to ... by Anti-Gnostic Plus 10 more... Related Stories SuperFreakonomics on Geoengineering, Revisited Global (and American) happiness these days Fireside chat with Vitalik  ( 6 min )

The dataset, being collected as part of a US Coast Guard science mission, will be released open source to help advance naval mission planning and climate change studies.  ( 9 min )

Also the Trump SPAC settles, Twitter = X and beer advertising is securities fraud.  ( 2 min )

Dorota Rizik of the R Ladies New York recently talked to the R Consortium about the diverse R community in New York. She also discussed how her current job at... Continue reading: Use of R in Non-Profit Social Policy Research in New York  ( 13 min )

We’re closing on on 400 books in the collection! A new Economics chapter has been added and some of the books previously in Finance have been moved here. This post rounds up 7 of the newest additions. Thanks to Lluís Revilla, Mario De Toma and Gary for their submissions: Deep … Continue reading: 7 New books added to Big Book of R  ( 11 min )

Book here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pacha/e/153247. Continue reading: Workshop: Analyzing BarbieHeimer texts with R  ( 8 min )

Introduction Continue reading: How to Calculate Percentage by Group in R using Base R, dplyr, and data.table  ( 10 min )

Following my recent post on three useful (to me) R patterns, I’ve written down three other things on a tiny sticky note. This post will allow me to throw away this beaten down sticky note, and maybe to show you one element you didn’t know? Continue reading: Three useful (to me) R notions  ( 11 min )

Hyperprolific authors have been drawing attention for some time. In 2018, for example, a Nature article reported that “thousands of scientists have published a paper every five days.” And earlier this year El Pais noted that a now-suspended scientist was publishing a paper every 37 hours. What about an author who publishes more than once … Continue reading Meet the author who has published more than 500 letters to the editor in a year  ( 10 min )

There is nothing quite like the anticipation of a new Christopher Nolan movie. A gifted storyteller with a knack for head-spinning narratives and maximalist spectacle, he’s one of the few contemporary directors who consistently turns original ideas into grand cinematic experiences that cry out to be watched on the biggest possible screen. His latest, a […]  ( 9 min )

Supporters often invoke emotionally appealing anecdotes and common-sense assumptions. To critics, policing people with dogs not only lacks empirical and experimental validation, but also causes injuries sometimes so severe they require specialized trauma care not available in the emergency room.  ( 23 min )

Scientific and folk theories of viral transmission: A comparison of COVID-19 and the common cold: Disease transmission is a fruitful domain in which to examine how scientific and folk theories interrelate, given laypeople’s access to multiple sources of information to … Continue reading →  ( 16 min )

Iconbuddy - 100K+ open source icons [sansaid]  ( 1 min )

It’s taken me four posts (my earlier attempts are here, here, and here), but I think I’m ready to answer the opening question: Can ChatGPT “write” a story? Sort of. Depends on your definition of “write.” In the old sense, where an author conjures sentences from their head, I “wrote” about a thousand words into […]  ( 24 min )

A seemingly impossible murder commited during the trade union movement becomes the obsession of London’s Bow district.  ( 2 min )

Small typo: question 9.3.Q "show that the P(1,1,n) is isomorphic" probably missing "space" or something.  ( 12 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is teaching R to our incoming analysts. These analysts are largely recent college graduates with a limited background in computer science and statistics. Historically my job has been to teach them the basics of the Tidyverse over 3 half-days. I’m writing ... Continue reading: Request for Resources: Teaching Computer Science Basics to R Programmers  ( 11 min )

Book here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pacha/e/153099. Continue reading: R and/or Python training – 4 sessions – With discount  ( 8 min )

R and Shiny Training: If you find this blog to be interesting, please note that I offer personalized and group-based training sessions that may be reserved through Buy me a Coffee. Additionally, I provide training services in the Spanish language ... Continue reading: Step-by-Step Guide to Scrape UN Comtrade metadata with R and Selenium  ( 12 min )

Front-door adjustment: a superhero method for handling unobserved confounding by using mediators (if present) to estimate causal effects accurately. Let’s DAG an estimand! library(dagitty) dag Continue reading: Front-door Adjustment  ( 19 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

An in-depth guide into applying analysis to a piece of text and extrapolating meaning. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Plus a few other writing and editing tricks I’ve learned over the past few decades Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Putting it all together to finish your book cover design! Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 7 min )

No, I don’t think this one will go public, but you can see my earlier 2018 CWT with him.  In any case, do you all have suggestions as to what I should ask?  Note that the audience is (likely) by no means crypto specialists. I thank you in advance for your usual wisdom and counsel. The post Fireside chat with Vitalik appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Despite many smart people over many years inventing use cases ... by Etalon d'Silomar what is a woman by sisterogersintersectionalneighborhoodfilmreviews In reply to Anti-Gnostic. Presumably Vitalik is hosting in ... by Knut In reply to heyo. I would like more stories about dragons. by MrSquiggles “I thank you in advance for your usual wisdom and counsel.” ... by dearieme Plus 10 more... Related Stories The new LLaMa 2 from Meta Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang on the productivity effects of LLMs Against human-AI collaboration  ( 4 min )

1. Economic development as reflected in the emotions expressed in paintings, as measured by AI. 2. The only thing keeping South Africa from collapse is its private sector (Bloomberg). 3. The making of Yunnan. 4. Good Anna Gát review of Oppenheimer.  And good Henry Oliver review. 5. Sri Lanka update. 6. How well do some commonly-recognized […] The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Cytotoxic. Just leave some copies of Locke's ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Cytotoxic. Most immigrants are net tax consumers. ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Cytotoxic. Well is it the “values” or the ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Cytotoxic. I guarantee most of the posters in ... by Gapon In reply to rsm. Of course not! What gave you that idea? ... by EdR Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

First of all, and most of all, read them when you are young (teens and 20s) so they can still influence the longer trajectory of your life! But let’s say you are past that point.  It seems to me an optimal amount of waiting is in order.  You want at least one of your rereads […] The post When is best in life to read or reread many of the greatest classic novels? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to ged. Come on little puppies, …, sing me your ... by ged In reply to ged. With a drop dead gorgeous wife. by ged Reading Tacitus in my 30's … by ged I doubt that “the Classics” *should* consist of the same ... by Neurotic In reply to dearieme. And on the subject of historical ... by dearieme Plus 10 more... Related Stories Victory City My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart Dear Chat-GPT (just one opinion)  ( 5 min )

From an anonymous correspondent, I will not indent: “As a Singaporean, I appreciated your recent post on Singapore and the self-perpetuating nature of its establishment. I wanted to raise three points that may be of interest to you, which seem to also be under-discussed outside of Singapore. The first is the Singaporean system of scholarships. […] The post More on Singapore and public sector talent development appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments A simple google of “Average IQ by country”: ... by truth777 In reply to Melmoth. Agree. I didn't mean in the TV show ... by Anon I once asked a high-ranking Singapore bureaucrat how a little ... by Wooden Foot In reply to steve. Yup. Singapore has benefited from decades ... by mkt42 In reply to Rahul. I think this, combined with size, matters ... by Formerly K Plus 10 more... Related Stories The politics of neuroticism and unhappiness Matt Yglesias on European politics Why Singaporean democracy is like a social media graph  ( 8 min )

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Someone who I don’t know writes: If you decide to share this publicly, say in your blog, let me stay anonymous. It’s funny how people want anonymity on these things! Anyway, my correspondent continues: I came across this 2016 PNAS … Continue reading →  ( 13 min )

Bradley's Almanac 📌 Nelson's log 📌 ⬌ Nelson's Weblog lauren heywood blogs.hn 📌 Homepage of the Oldternet 📌  ( 1 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Make daily writing easier to adopt with these simple tricks Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Setting off on the expertise journey in your writing Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

What did I learn from the process? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

I haven’t posted as much lately as it is summer, and I’ve been doing a lot of family trips. Including an Alaskan cruise the last two weeks. Such periods are supposed to be happy times, worth their extra cost in part due to our anticipating and remembering them fondly. But while such trips are indeed often filled with interesting and indulgent sights and experiences, they also let me see and feel death.

“Would reverse engineering partial hash codes of thousands of website users to get their IPs with brute force be considered hacking?” Yes, attempting to reverse engineer hash codes to obtain user IP addresses or any other sensitive information would certainly be considered hacking. This is an unauthorized attempt to access, manipulate, or use another person’s […] The post Dear Chat-GPT (just one opinion) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Joshua Gans. “Human Being, why would it matter ... by Sashoir In reply to No, I would like to thank you personally. Why ... by rsm In reply to seegs. Should we be figuring out animal language ... by rsm In reply to Soap McTavish. The sky is red not the land. You ... by the king of texas Tyler crying about the behavior of bolsheviks seems like a poor ... by Terry Richards Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart Victory City Austin Vernon on electric vehicles > hybrids  ( 5 min )

You can object to the lack of plot impetus in this work, or cite several other objections, not entirely without reason.  Yet the film is fresh, interesting, and creative throughout.  It is full of ideas, starting with an investigation of how lookism oppresses women, and then it continues to deepen.  By the end, the surface-level […] The post *Barbie* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Upvote if you don't know what Straussian means. ... by Derek227 In reply to Soap McTavish. I liked the Ken song I saw on ... by Asdf In reply to Upvote if you don't know what Straussian means. ... by Bill In reply to Enoch Lambert. Straussian refers specifically to ... by Heedless In reply to RAD. I'd rather watch Barbie on .25x speed than ... by Eric Plus 10 more... Related Stories *Oppenheimer*, the movie Mission Impossible 7 (no real spoilers) Los Alamos From Below  ( 4 min )

1. What a corruption scandal in Singapore looks like. 2. Vargas Llosa uh-oh? (New Yorker) 3. Astral Codex Ten: comments on British economic decline. 4. FedNow will enable speedier payments. 5. One take on the current Chinese economic slowness.  A good, non-hysterical piece. 6. Stupid bluster about Suwalki.  But don’t think this is not a […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Bilbo b.. Gabriel Garcia Marquez occupied the ... by Faze In reply to The Scary Black Hundreder. Seems like conflict ... by M In reply to Rebes. “In 1974, after nearly two decades of ... by andy In reply to Baltics are Historic Russia. Give it to us. I'm ... by Pochemuchka In reply to Kent Guida. Less reason for surprise than a New ... by Mm Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

In the upper deccan of India lies Hampi, today just a village and ancient ruins but once the seat of the Vijayanagara Empire which ruled most of South India from 1336 to 1565. The Vijayanagara Empire was the last big Hindu empire in India before the Mughals and then the British took over, so it […] The post Victory City appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Greg. That's not true. Ukraine gets all the ... by AJ 《He marvels at a palace in which one room was built entirely ... by rsm In reply to Faze. The second image is 1200×756 pixels so, ... by RAD In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 11:16:37 by Bill TIL: The economy of the empire was largely dependent on ... by RAD Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart *Germany in the World* Who first declared that God is dead?  ( 7 min )

I am not sure how many people should use psychedelics, and I do not wish anything in this post to be construed as advice.  It does seem obvious to me, however, that 1960s popular music was more creative because some individuals used psychedelics.  I’ve also seen evidence that psychedelics can help (only some) individuals with […] The post Why I do not use psychedelics appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments What is the Straussian reading of this? by yanu Haven't read the whole thread of comments, but not positive why ... by Ralph In reply to cthulhu. Was sex his drug of choice? by rsm In reply to blue jay. Should it be a free country again, ... by rsm In reply to FG. I’ve known a few people who took LSD, and ... by But Muh Sacred Experience Plus 10 more...  ( 5 min )

New orders at the country’s engineering companies, long a bellwether for the health of Germany Inc., have been dropping like a stone, falling 10 percent in May alone, the eighth consecutive decline. Similar weakness is apparent across the German economy, from construction to chemicals. Foreign interest in Germany as a place to invest is also receding. The […] The post German deindustrialization crisis of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments The biggest problem with Germany's economy is declining ... by DanHessinMD In reply to sxb. Flamanville remains a money pit, which is ... by Underinvestment, cost overruns, fraud, whatever In reply to Prediction Markets In Everything?. Or it’s just ... by Heedless In reply to M. France focused on renewables and has had years ... by sxb In reply to Anton maier. “Germany should be performing much ... by Which is exactly what every single German believes Plus 10 more... Related Stories The disinflation as American triumph How the NSF Moved Faster than the NIH During COVID-19 The EJMR doxxing issue  ( 5 min )

Many people know March 14 is celebrated as Pi Day because 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π (using the month, day date format). I just learned that July 22 is celebrated as Pi Approximation Day (using the day/month date ... Continue reading: Happy Pi Approximation Day  ( 9 min )

Notice in a men's room at Dunhuang, far western Gansu Province: The sign says: tiējǐn wénmíng  kàojìn fāngbiàn 贴紧文明 靠近方便 "adhere to civilization  get close when you urinate" The authorities are forever enjoining men to stand close to the urinal when they relieve themself, and men are forever standing back several feet so they don't […]  ( 7 min )

I never heard of it in America or Europe (seems to be a quite recent phenomenon — by that name — but see below for the deeper history of the activity).  Apparently it has taken off in China during the last year: Stooping Takes China by Storm as Zoomers Scour the Streets for Junk Cash-strapped […]  ( 12 min )

A correspondent writes: I thought you might care to comment on a rebuttal in today’s HealthAffairs. I find it a poor non-defense that relies on “1000s of studies used our measure and found it valid”, as well as attacks on … Continue reading →  ( 20 min )

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to more than 300. There are now 41,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in Edifix, EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains 200 titles. And have … Continue reading Weekend reads: Stanford president to resign; untrustworthy clinical trials; ‘cruel and fake’ animal experiments  ( 8 min )

This summer, I’m delighted to report, we’ve had four (!) students complete their PhDs in computer science through UT Austin’s Quantum Information Center: A fifth, Dr. Yuxuan Zhang, completed his PhD in condensed-matter physics. We also had two postdocs finish this summer: All told, I’ve now supervised or co-supervised a total of 12 PhD students […]  ( 5 min )

This summer, I’m delighted to report, we’ve had four (!) students complete their PhDs in computer science through UT Austin’s Quantum Information Center: A fifth, Dr. Yuxuan Zhang, completed his PhD in condensed-matter physics. We also had two postdocs finish this summer: All told, I’ve now supervised or co-supervised a total of 12 PhD students […]  ( 5 min )

Well, you know how the story ends so there are no real spoilers.  I will say I found about thirty minutes of excellent movie in a three hour experience.  The best material starts when the test bomb goes off.  There is remarkably little about the social, intellectual, or scientific excitement at Los Alamos — a […] The post *Oppenheimer*, the movie appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to michael. “The Rest of History” Podcast with ... by michael Is it swing band music? by rsm if anyone is interested in an actually interesting story about ... by michael Seeing it tomorrow in IMAX, hoping for the best. I'm not a huge ... by Hadur Related Stories Mission Impossible 7 (no real spoilers) Los Alamos From Below  ( 5 min )

1. Oregon drug decriminalization is not going as well as expected (Atlantic). 2. The future of Eden Center in Falls Church. 3. “This is a game that tests your ability to predict (“forecast”) how well GPT-4 will perform at various types of questions.” 4. Why are so many kosher restaurants so bad? 5. “…a pre-registered […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to rsm. Not so much no. I deal with a lot more ... by Sure In reply to Heedless. Don't make me laugh. The Sicilian ... by Sure In reply to notRover. Gretchen is a very cerebral lawyer in ... by Equestrian “7. Shruti interviews Peter Boettke on Austrian economics and ... by Formerly K In reply to superdestroyer. Death is a one-shot game that ... by RAD Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

A decade earlier, the U.S. Defense Department, guided by the surveys of American government geologists, concluded that the vast wealth of lithium and other minerals buried in Afghanistan might be worth $1 trillion, more than enough to prop up the country’s fragile government. In a 2010 memo, the Pentagon’s Task Force for Business and Stability […] The post Afghanistan potential supply elasticity fact of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Not Sure. Loans were only given to countries that ... by Dan S. In reply to EdR. My buddy's mother makes $85 per hour working ... by SGfrmthe33 In reply to Chimela Caesar. The number that struck me first ... by hype train In reply to Ricardo. There is a large fantasy world out there ... by Hmm In reply to Hmm. Cool. I once met a guy who told me he was ... by Ricardo Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

The only summary I have seen is from Karlstack, noting that he is siding against the doxxers and has defended EJMR in the past.  Most of the people who care already know the details, so I won’t repeat them.  I will however add a few observations: 1. I don’t read EJMR, so however bad it […] The post The EJMR doxxing issue appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Eric Rasmusen. Doesn't seem like those are views ... by Ian In reply to shock. Autism is a mental illness, even though it ... by Eric Rasmusen In reply to michael. Yeah remember the phonebook? by JSk In reply to Ian. 1. Voting for Trump. 2. Being against ... by Eric Rasmusen In reply to chrisare. “Because the left is so dominant and ... by Ian Plus 10 more... Related Stories The disinflation as American triumph Austin Vernon on electric vehicles > hybrids Mental health and European economics departments  ( 7 min )

The article I am calling to your attention in this post is of extraordinary importance for its potential to link together many of the themes we have repeatedly investigated during nearly the last two decades on Language Log (see the bibliography below for a sampling of relevant posts). To make it easier for non-specialist readers, […]  ( 22 min )

It's already happening. Of course, we don't want our students to use AI software to help them write their papers, but the fact of the matter is that some of them, especially among those who have poor English writing skills, are already routinely doing so.  Their attitude seems to be that they will do the […]  ( 16 min )

Spread over 80 square meters and surrounded by meadows, Kirkjugólf Basalt Columns seem so out of place that for a long time, these columns were thought to have been the floor of a church that no longer exists. This belief was not completely implausible, considering that the first settlers on the island were probably Irish Hermits.  If this had been the case, they would most likely have built a church. These are all conjectures, but even if proven true, it is now clear that Kirkjugólf Basalt Columns was definitely not a human creation, but a natural one. Like basalt columns elsewhere in the world, those in Kirkjugólf are the product of lava cooling. As lava cools, it contracts, and as it contracts, it cracks. The cracks start at the very bottom of the lava field and travel vertically to the top, a process that results in the creation of columns. Sharp contours and repetitive patterns make these sites seem like they were sculpted by a human hand.    Descriptions of the Kirkjugólf Basalt Columns often report that they consist of hexagonal columns, but even this detail is misleading, for there is no shortage of pentagons, heptagons, and octagons. Yet, in spite of the variety of shapes (or more likely because of it), these columns fit in perfectly next to one another, leaving only a narrow, consistent gap between them. Of note, the nearby village of Kirkjugólf was named after the basalt columns, and it literally means “the church floor.”  Following the discovery of its natural origins, the basalt columns were given the less-imaginative name of “Kirkjugólf Natural Monument.”  ( 13 min )

Launched in 1915, in honor of Arizona, which had attained statehood three years earlier, the USS Arizona was a battleship in the US Navy. Twenty-seven years later, the ship was sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, during World War II. Despite its relatively short career, the Arizona was present for several notable events and today the battleship is memorialized within the Capitol building of its namesake. The Arizona spent World War I mostly in the United States, primarily used in training missions and only sailing across the Atlantic Ocean after the armistice ending the war had been signed. The Arizona was part of the convoy escorting President Woodrow Wilson to Europe for the Paris Peace Conference and later part of the fleet that escorted him back to the United St…  ( 14 min )

Fairplay, Colorado started as a mining camp under the name of South Park City. In the 19th century, "park” was a common term in the Western United States for a wide valley, and Fairplay is located in South Park. (The animated sitcom is set in the same area.) Hence, this re-creation of a late 19th-century camp at the edge of modern Fairplay uses the original name. It consists of some 44 period buildings, seven of which are original. The rest were moved in from other old mining towns in the area.  The buildings include mock-ups of businesses typical in a settlement like this, including a blacksmith shop, livery stable, hotel, dry goods store, drugstore, carpenter shop (which doubled as a funeral parlor), assay office, print shop, and so on. There are also living quarters, a church, a school, and even a mine and a locomotive. Contemporary equipment such as mining tools, carriages, and wagons are also extensively displayed. Unpaved streets run between the buildings, some with authentic boardwalks, and you can wander around as much you wish. Sometimes exhibitions of 19th-century trades such as blacksmithing are also presented.  ( 13 min )

On a side street in this quiet community rests an unusual sight: an approximately 500 million-year-old rock outcropping covered in fossilized stromatolites. These are the remnants of colonies of cyanobacteria that once grew in thick mats on the shallow seafloor, adding layer after layer of accumulated sediment like the rings of a tree. The mats are preserved in the beautiful swirls and circles that dot the rock, an example of what’s called Allentown dolomite. Stromatolites are still around today, but quite rare, with only a few living colonies, like the one in Shark Bay, Australia.  ( 12 min )

Caerphilly is a small town in South Wales located just inland from the capital of Cardiff.  First and foremost, Caerphilly is most notably associated with its castle, which was built in 1268 and is the biggest castle in Wales.  Second, Caerphilly is associated with the eponymous hard cheese that originated in the area. Third, Caerphilly is known as the birthplace of Tommy Cooper. Tommy Cooper was born in 1921 in Caerphilly, but because the air in the town was so polluted at the time, Cooper’s family moved away when he was just three years old. While growing up, he developed an interest in magic and began to practice magic tricks regularly. Cooper reached adulthood right at the beginning of World War II, and he served in the Royal Horse Guards in the Middle East during the war. However, h…  ( 14 min )

Hidden River Cave is wonderful and unique because of the tremendous amount of history associated with it. John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, stopped by for a visit in 1867 and detailed his experience in his 1916 book Thousand Mile Walk To The Gulf. The cave was once a source of drinking water and hydroelectricity for the City of Horse Cave and the remnants of the equipment are still visible during the cave tour.  Electricity generated from the cave stream powered the home above the cave, which included a dentist's office and two other buildings in town. Horse Cave was actually the first town in Kentucky to have incandescent lights. The cave operated for commercial tours from 1916-1943, until household waste from businesses and the community above polluted the cave streams. The cave remained closed until 1992, when the combined efforts of local leaders and the nonprofit American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA) joined forces to clean up and restore the subterranean site. A regional sewage treatment system went online in 1989, which stopped pollution from entering the cave. This allowed nature to take its course and Hidden River Cave is now considered to be an environmental success story. The ACCA also opened the American Cave Museum in the entrance to the cave in 1992. Today, tour guides explain Hidden River Cave’s history and general information about caves, the animals that inhabit them, and some of the uses of caves. This tour is not only entertaining, it is educational.  ( 13 min )

The Morgan County Dungeon was discovered in 1964 during excavation for the present sheriff's office and jail. Located beneath the basement in the old jail, the dungeon contained several artifacts and is a stark reminder of how criminals were dealt with in the 19th century. Prisoners convicted of rioting, larceny, and adultery in Morgan County between 1833 and 1839 were confined to the dungeon. The dungeon is located on Main Street in Malta, Ohio, adjacent to the Rock Hollow School.  ( 12 min )

Opened in December 2022, Babka & Krantz bears the distinction of being the only Jewish bakery in Berlin’s 750-year-old bakers' guild, or the Bäcker-Innung Berlin. Being accepted into the prestigious association is no easy feat. Certain standards for craftsmanship and quality, as well as a commitment to upholding traditional baking techniques, must be met by every bakery to be approved. Plus, Germany has stringent regulations for becoming a certified baker including formal education and vocational training. The concept here revolves around a fusion of Eastern European and Israeli cuisines, with a focus on traditional Jewish pastries. Owners Marcin Liera-Elkin and Shahar Elkin dole out their favorite sweet and savory pastries, including two versions of braided bread inspiring the shop’s name: babka baked according to Marcin’s Polish grandmother recipe, as well as krantz from Shahar’s homeland Israel. Over 90 percent of the baked goods are made using organic ingredients, and the house-made yeast dough is allowed to rest for up to 48 hours. The bakery's warm and inviting atmosphere, coupled with delectable offerings, has made it a popular haven in the capital’s up-and-coming Friedenau neighborhood. It’s the perfect place to spend a couple of hours sipping coffee and savoring a sweet hazelnut babka with creamy nougat cream or a savory Sabich bagel, seasoned with zaatar and topped with aubergine and hummus, are definite favorites. The inclusion of Babka & Krantz as the first Jewish bakery in the guild is a remarkable milestone, highlighting the evolving nature of Berlin's gastronomic landscape and the celebration of diverse cultural influences within the city's vibrant food scene. The bakery has become an integral part of Berlin’s steadily growing Jewish community, particularly among Israeli expats (by some figures, more than 10,000 have moved to Berlin in the last decade). It's a testament to the power of good food and the importance of preserving culinary traditions for future generations.  ( 13 min )

Southern Utah has spectacular scenery, but for pioneers trying to carry out agriculture in these arid lands an adequate water supply was an ongoing problem. This led to some extraordinary water diversion projects, including the Tropic Ditch. Water was diverted from the East Fork of the Sevier River, atop the Paunsaugunt Plateau west of the present location of Bryce Canyon National Park, to Bryce Valley. Construction began in 1890 and the Ditch was completed in 1892. It was built entirely with muscle power, using hand tools and draft animals. It extends easterly some 10 miles to the town of Tropic, which relies on its water to this day. To minimize excavation, a critical consideration with no earth-moving equipment, natural watercourses were used as much as possible. In particular, an ordinarily dry east-draining watercourse, now called Water Canyon, became a major part of the ditch. Water Canyon crosses what is now Bryce Canyon National Park, but is still in use as it was grandfathered in when the Park was created.  ( 13 min )

Everybody knows Stockholm Syndrome, when hostages develop an attachment to their captors. But who knows its two opposites? Lima Syndrome is when the hostage takers start sympathizing with the hostages. And London Syndrome is when hostages become argumentative toward their captors—often with deadly results. In all, ten cities around the world carry a unique burden: they have a psychological disorder named after them. In an old issue of Names, the journal of the American Name Society, Ernest Lawrence Abel listed and described them. He arranged them in three categories: four tourism-related, three linked to hostage situations, and three “other.” Jerusalem Syndrome First reported in the 1930s, Jerusalem Syndrome affects about 100 visitors every year. Of those, about 40 need to be hospi…  ( 22 min )

The fossilized trunk of a club moss (Sigillaria) was discovered in Dawdon Colliery. Whilst modern-day club mosses stay close to the ground, during the Carboniferous period (approximately 320 million years ago) Sigillaria could grow up to 30 meters. The surrounding area was once the site of Dawdon Colliery, one of the last mines to close in the North East in 1991. Today, the area supports diverse calcareous grassland.  ( 12 min )

Secret Obsessions is Atlas Obscura’s column where we ask wondrous people to take us down a rabbit hole. This edition features American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, as told to Associate Editor Sarah Durn. I've been playing soccer my whole life. I played competitively from when I was seven years old until I graduated high school. Mostly, though, I just remember being bad at it. I remember I played for the brown or blue team, and we were the worst team. I always wanted to be on the black team. The black team was really good and I was never allowed on it. But then, in middle school, that all changed. I still wasn’t the best soccer player, but I became obsessed with the game. More specifically, I became obsessed with London’s Chelsea Football Club. My neighbors were from England and ha…  ( 23 min )

In the small town of Kornhult, where the Smedjeån river widens, you'll find Ljusen i Smedjeån (The Candles in Smedjeån river): an installation featuring three large candles rising from the water's depths. While information about this intriguing sculpture is scarce online, it captivates locals and visitors alike with its weird presence. The Smedjeån is 55 kilometers long and flows into the Lagan outside Mellby.  ( 12 min )

Wonder is everywhere. That’s why, every other week, Atlas Obscura drags you down some of the rabbit holes we encounter as we search for our unusual stories. We highlight surprising finds, great writing, and inspiring stories from some of our favorite publications. An Exclusive Look at the Los Alamos Lab Where Oppenheimer Created the Bomb by Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Smithsonian Magazine Los Alamos, New Mexico, is still an active national laboratory, and the sites where Manhattan Project scientists developed the first nuclear weapon remain off limits to the public. But photographer Minesh Bacrania, a physicist who worked in the lab’s nonproliferation division from 2006 to 2012, received special permission to take photographs for Smithsonian Magazine, providing a never-before-seen…  ( 16 min )

Loupin' Stanes is a stone circle sat on a low platform above the River Esk. The rough stone circle has two large stones marking the entrance at the southwest side. The rest of the stone circle is made up of 10 stones. There are also stones scattered around the exterior of the stone circle, their role in the site is uncertain. Further along, the Esk are the remains of another stone circle, Girdle Stanes. Girdle Stanes was once made up of 40 or 45 stones, over time, the Esk has changed course and it swept away part of the stone circle. Around 21 stones remain in place, one precariously balanced beyond the fence on the edge of the river bank. It's thought that the entrance would have been located on the southeast side. The proximity of the two circles is unusual. Questions remain about why two such different style circles were built so close together. It's uncertain which was built first, although one belief is that Loupin' Stanes was built to replace Girdle Stanes after it was damaged. There are also two recumbent stones between the two stone circles. Questions also remain about their purpose, were they some way of connecting the damaged stone circle with the smaller circle.  ( 12 min )

Based in a bank building in Heroes Square, Corfu Town, this museum walks people through the history of Greece using banknotes to illustrate the socioeconomic developments from 1822 to the modern day. Inside are interactive displays on note production and collections of final notes printed in various European Union states before converting to the Euro. A fascinating alternative view of Greece and rewarding exhibits for those interested in printing and design, not just those who collect currencies.  ( 12 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Gaby Contardo (SISSA) completed her visit to Heidelberg today. Over coffee this morning she delivered a very simple, but very nice insight about machine learning outputs. Apologies that this is very Inside Baseball: As I like to emphasize, you can't really average (or do any populations inferences with) a collection of labels delivered by a discriminative ML method run on a collection of objects. Think: Finding the mean age of a cluster, where each star in the cluster got an age estimate from a discriminative ML method trained on stars with known ages. This is because the discriminative ML methods output something very akin to posterior quantities, and if you average a bunch of posterior estimates, you are multiplying in a prior times itself many times; eventually the prior dominates the inference (in many cases). Contardo's point: If what you want is a label for a collection of objects, like that mean age, you should train on . That is, make a training set where you have sets of N stars, labeled by mean age. Then this model can be applied to a new collection of stars and deliver a mean age estimate! Haha, brilliant. And correct. And consistent with the rules of inference.collections of objects  ( 14 min )

Cosmologists are annoyed at a recent spate of news articles claiming the universe is 26.7 billion years old (rather than 13.8 billion as based on the current best measurements). To some of the science-reading public, the news sounds like a confirmation of hints they’d already heard: about an ancient “Methuselah” star that seemed to be […]  ( 12 min )

Summer is supposedly a period where people take it a tad easier, spend some vacation time away from anything that is work-related, and "tune out" of the deadlines and rythms of daily work activities that dominate their existence at other times of the year.  read more  ( 7 min )

No. The Schmitt Music Company commissioned the Schmitt Music mural at its downtown Minneapolis headquarters in 1972 after a Minneapolis Star columnist called the building ugly.  ( 5 min )